Injury Prevention

In the Home

Falls, burns, poisoning and drowning are the most common causes of injuries to children at home, yet can be the most preventable. Young children are naturally curious and will not understand the dangers of hot water, appliance cords and household cleaning products.

Keep hot drinks out of reach. Make sure a child cannot pull on any mats, tablecloths, cords or handles to reach a hot drink.
Set the bathroom hot water to 50 degrees Celsius. Always test the bath temperature first and never leave a child alone.
Check nightwear labels for fire warnings. Avoid using hand me downs which may not have passed new legislation.
Use safety gates inside the home and stove guards.
Supervision is the best preventative measure.

For more information, visit

Driveways

Every year in Australia, about 50 children are run over in the driveway of their family home.

The circumstances are always awful but perhaps most sadly, many of these deaths and injuries are caused by family members and could have been avoided.

However, there are a number of preventative measures that you can take to help ensure your child's safety:

Always supervise your children whenever a vehicle is to be moved. Hold their hands or hold them close to keep them safe.
If you are the only adult at home and need to move a vehicle, even only a small distance, place children securely in the vehicle with you while you move it.
A driveway is actually a small road. Discourage children from using it as a play area.
Make access to the driveway from the house difficult for a child, possible using security doors, fencing or gates.

Bicycles

Bicycles are vehicles by law under the Australian Road Rules, with equal rights to share the road and an equal responsibility to obey traffic laws.

From the first of December 1999, it became legal for young cyclists in NSW, under the age of 12 years, to ride on a footpath.

Adults over the age of 18 accompanying a child under the age of 12, may also ride on the footpath. Children aged 12-18, in the company of an adult over the age of 18 and a child under the age of 12,may also ride on the footpath. All cyclists riding on the footpath must give way to pedestrians.

Council does have the right, under the new legislation, to prohibit all cyclists from certain areas, including those cyclists under the age of 12.

All cyclists must wear a cycling helmet in a public place,including roads, pathways, and parks.

Council also has an off road children's road safety training track, located in Holroyd Gardens Park on the corner of Pitt and Walpole Streets in Holroyd.

Download a copy of the Bicycle Safety Training Program.

School Zones

Holroyd City is the first local Council in Australia to provide flashing 40 kilometre per hour school signs at each of its schools. The flashing school zone signs will be installed in 2008.

Forty kilometres per hour school zones are in force from 8.00am to 9.30 am and 2.30pm to 4pm school days only. School zones have been introduced for the safety of small children who:

cannot see as far as older, taller people
do not have the experience to make proper judgements about when it is safe to cross a road
are impulsive, and easily distracted or confused
cannot accurately judge distances or speeds of approaching vehicles

When driving, remember that it takes:

40 metres to stop at 60 kilometres per hour
30 metres to stop at 50 kilometres per hour
18 metres to stop at 40 kilometres per hour

All schools experience a great deal of congestion before and after school. Most parents are patient and have the safety of the children in mind when parking. However, the safety of all children is put at risk when some parents refuse to abide by parking regulations, using lateness or rain or being in a hurry as an excuse.

It is never okay to ignore parking regulation signs. They have been placed in certain areas becauseif vehicles park in those areas, the view of other vehicles and pedestrians is blocked. This creates a dangerous situation.

Parents are also asked to:

Not call children across the road
Not do U turns outside schools on roads crowded with pedestrians and traffic
Use pedestrian crossings
Drop children on the school side of the road and make sure they exit the car on the kerb side

No child under 10 years of age should be allowed to cross the road without adult supervision.

Seat Belts

Except where no seat belt is fitted to a vehicle, only in very old cars, all drivers and passengers aged 14 and over must wear a seatbelt.

· Children aged between 1 and 13 must wear a seat belt or be placed in an approved, correctly fitted child restraint.

· Babies under the age of 12 months must be in an approved child restraint or child seat unless there is no restraint anchorage point fitted to the vehicle.

The driver is responsible for making sure all passengers under the age of 16 are wearing a seat belt or that the correct child restraint is used. It is the driver who is fined for breaches for those under the age of 16. For those over 16, the fine is issued to the person breaking the law.

Double demerit points apply to seat belt offences on Long Weekends and holidays.

Child Seats

Child seats come in a variety of styles. The main thing to look for is that the seat is:

The correct size for the child (specifications should be on the packaging)
The correct seat for the position in the car
That it meets Australian standards
That the straps and bolts are the correct type for your vehicle

Read all the safety instructions carefully, and where adjustable straps are supplied, make sure these are correctly adjusted for your child. Check also that you have the correct extension straps if needed and that the anchor points have been placed in the correct position in the car.

If using a booster seat, check to see if you need to use a harness with the seat. If in doubt, check it with an RTA restraint checker. It is a good idea to have all new seats checked for suitability.

Second hand seats should always be checked by an RTA checker.

If the seat has been in an accident it may not be safe
If it is more than 10 years old, the plastic and/or straps may no longer be guaranteed to be safe
Never buy anything that looks as though the straps have been altered or that are faded, threadbare or even slightly frayed
Never try to alter a seat belt yourself

For more information on road safety, email the Road Safety Officer web2@holroyd.nsw.gov.au or visit