Driveway Safety for Children

While many children like to spend time on the driveway playing basketball, drawing with chalk or just playing and having a good time, their safety should be a major concern. The following tips will help you keep your children safe while playing on your driveway.

The vast majority of driveway accidents occur when a child is hit by an automobile. After all, driveways are meant to be driven on. Luckily, there are ways to keep your children safe while on your driveway. First, try to block the driveway off as much as possible when your kids are playing so that a car coming in has to stop or slow down. You don't have to barricade your children in, but even one rubbish bin can prevent a fatal accident. Just place the bin in the middle of the entrance to the driveway while your kids are playing and when a car comes, move the rubbish bin after your children get out of the way of the car. You should also try to educate your kids, no matter how young they may be, about the dangers of running out into the road after a toy or bouncing ball.

It may seem strange that driveways pose such a danger, however they have proven to be a major cause for motor vehicle deaths amongst children under the age of six. A third of these children were killed in the front garden, parking lots and driveways.

One of the main reasons for this is because it is very difficult, if not impossible, to see small children when backing up. Children may also be in the blind spot of a reversing car and not realise it or understand that the person cannot see them. Technology has gotten better with cars with cameras that can be seen through the navigation system when reversing, but for the most part, only newer high-end cars are equipped with this technology.

Research has shown that generally the greatest number of fatal driveway accidents occur on weekdays as opposed to weekends. They usually occur between 8:00am and 10:00am in the morning, and between 4:00pm and 6:00pm in the afternoon. Strangely enough, most of these accidents occur in good weather and bright conditions, when one expects visibility to be best.

Try to keep your kids in at night, too, and if they are out on the driveway at night, make sure that the driveway is properly illuminated to aid in visibility.

David A. Howarth has been working in the home restoration and improvement business in the UK for over 20 years now, and enjoys writing about home improvement features such as garage doors and double glazing.