Make a SafeSquare to help prevent driveway tragedies

Children creating their SafeSquare at a previous Bunnings workshop. Photo / Supplied

Parent to Parent and Bunnings are again working together to help keep New Zealand children safe in driveways this summer.

Their joint initiative provides families with a free SafeSquare paver to create a safe spot for children to stand while vehicles are operating in the driveway.

In conjunction with Parent to Parent NZ, Bunnings stores nationwide — including Hamilton — will be hosting free SafeSquares workshops this Saturday, November 30 from 10am to 1pm.

Families are invited to their local Bunnings to decorate their free paver with weather resistant paint to take home.

The SafeSquare — decorated in bright colours — becomes a designated spot behind a fence or a gate for children to stand when vehicles are moving in and out of the driveway.

At Bunnings, children will be provided with an apron, gloves and brightly-coloured paints to create their own SafeSquare.

Volunteers from Parent to Parent will be on hand to discuss the best spots to place the SafeSquare once you take it home.

CEO of Parent to Parent, Jane Bawden, says: "As we head into the summer holidays the fun workshops are a timely tool to re-educate communities on the best ways to keep their kids safe near driveways."

In New Zealand, almost half of all child driveway injuries occur during summer, with the month of December alone accounting for 24 per cent of the yearly total.

Yet in 2019, there has not been a single report of a child killed in a driveway accident in New Zealand for two years. Parent to Parent hopes to help keep that figure at zero.

Parent to Parent is a nationwide not-for-profit organisation formed in 1983 by parents and professionals to support the families of babies, children, teens and adults with any type of disability or health impairment.

Best practice

Parent to Parent and Bunnings hope to help keep driveway tragedies a thing of the past.

Three actions that together represent best practice in preventing driveway accidents taking young lives are:

• Walk around the car and check for children before you get in.
• Supervise children whenever cars are moving in and out of driveways.
• Separate play areas from driveways with fencing and gates.