The ACT government is focused on making driveway and garages more safe so that there are less tragic incidents involved children getting hit by cars.
If you are in search of a new home or are in the process of renovating your old one, keep in mind how safe the driveway is for your kids.
The ACT Government has just released a report urging building safety provisions around driveways. A study by the Bureau of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Economics showed that six children under five died and 40 are injured in driveway incidents in Australia every year.
There has had preliminary discussions with the transport industry and decided that a change to the building code might be the key to stopping the occurrence of accidents. The ideas that are making the rounds at the moment are;
Required vehicle technology (OEM cameras), Specific driver education, Awareness campaigns, and Required house-designs. 
Over 40 children under five years old are injured every year in Australia from driveway accidents.
One that will start to impact how you design your home under the discussed changes is buildings in ACT that will be made to prevent small children from accessing the garage from a door if it is attached to the house. They have calculated that the cost will be as low as $30 for a self-closing door mechanism.
Before that the ACT Government's proposition is out forward, here are some precautions you can put in place in the mean time.
Always walk behind the car to get in the drivers door.
Try and get into the habit of walking behind your car to get in the drivers seat. It may be out of the way and a little inconvenient but it will allow you to see if everything is clear before you reverse out. Do it enough times and you will form a habit.
Make sure you put measures in place to avoid any incidents whilst reversing your car.
Reversing camera
In an NRMA Insurance study 80 of the most popular vehicles were examined to compare the visibility with reverencing. The Ford Territory with OEM camera and Lexus RX350 with OEM camera were found to have the best reversing vision. If you are wanting to invest in safety features for your car , then a camera is a feature that has been proven to do the job well.
Teach your children not to play in the driveway
If it is the only section of concrete you have on property, the driveway can be very appealing for children to play on. However, it is important to teach them never to play on it. As the National Road and Motorist Association suggests, your driveway is a mini-road and you should always teach your kids it is a forbidden place to play.
Is your house and driveway safe enough to stop tragic incidents on your property?
Talk to the team at Peter Blackshaw for advice when choosing the right property to keep you and yours safe.
