Gates make sure kids stay safe

Mickey Kiel with some of her children Revolution, 7 months, Mission, 4, Angel, 6, Sapphire, 7, Paul, 8, Mystique, 11 and Akashia, 13. Photo / George Novak

A Tauranga solo mother of 10 used to worry her children's curiosity would lead to them playing in the driveway or on the road.

Now Mickey Kiel, whose children are aged between 7 months and 19 years, rests easy, thanks to Housing New Zealand installing gates as part of its $30 million driveway safety programme.

Ms Kiel often babysits another 10 neighbourhood children at her home.

"The kids know not to go out on the road, and the older ones look out for the younger ones, but kids are curious so I always had to make sure the little ones didn't go off the balcony into the driveway or onto the street," she said.

"I'm really happy with the gates. They're proper ones like they have at child centres and schools so the kids can't get out, and they look really nice."

Ms Kiel's home is one of 81 Western Bay of Plenty state homes which have had driveway work done.

The programme began last November, aiming to reduce the risk of children being run over in the driveways of state homes by creating fenced off play areas for children that were separate from driveways.

Another 21 Western Bay homes will get improvements in the next few months.

Housing New Zealand regional manager Darren Toy said the priority was to make safety improvements at properties where there were children aged 5 and under living, as toddlers were at the greatest risk of being injured in a driveway accident.

The improvements ranged from installing fencing, self-closing gates with child-resistant latches, speed restriction signs, speed humps and convex mirrors where appropriate.

"The work we carry out depends on the type of property - but the key priority is creating fenced play areas for children that are separate from the driveway," Mr Toy said.

"Ultimately we aim to complete 13,000 Housing New Zealand properties across New Zealand, over four years."

Housing New Zealand supported the work that Safekids Aotearoa, the injury prevention service of Auckland's Starship Hospital, did to prevent children being run over.

According to Safekids, New Zealand had one of the highest recorded incidences of child driveway death and injury in the world, with a child hospitalised every two weeks and five children dying on average each year from driveway injuries.

The majority of children injured were toddlers, aged about 2, and their injuries were often severe. Most of the injuries came from children being run over by relatives.

Housing New Zealand provided driveway safety advice to people when they moved into a state rental home.

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