Sustainable Development?

Below is an article from Catherine King local MP who talks about the safety of children and vehicles close to home.  She states that town planners need to take this issue into account. Here are some photos that have taken around the place, not necessarily Ballarat East. We love the one of the basketball rings in the vehicle access road behind townhouses. This laneway is like the one being built in the Stockade St Development – the rear of the 11 townhouses. It says something about developers being wrong about families not wanting recreational space on their properties and the type of people they predict will be occupying these developments.  The cars parked over the footpaths are in contrast to the State Planning Scheme which is pushing for “walkable neighbourhoods”.

Seven children aged under 15 are killed each year and 60 are seriously injured, on average, due to being hit by a vehicle moving around the home.

The statistics are included in a new report released today by Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Transport Catherine King titled Child pedestrian safety: ‘driveway deaths’ and ‘low-speed vehicle run-overs’.

“The Australian Government is determined to see action taken to prevent these tragic incidents, which impact terribly on families and communities.  The number of children killed or seriously injured in driveway-related incidents is a matter of great concern,” Ms King said.

Between 2001 and 2010, 66 children aged under fifteen were killed by motor vehicles around the family home.

“Typically they involve very young children being run over while they are playing around the family home and often with a family member or friend behind the wheel.

“Unfenced driveways, doors between the house and garage, poor visibility from vehicles, particularly when reversing but also while moving forward, and parents being caught off guard, are all contributing factors.

Ms King urged parents, schools, other property owners and town planners to take child pedestrian safety into account in the design of built environments.

“In homes, the separation of driveways from play areas will help to reduce the risks for children,” she emphasised.

“While there can never be a substitute for supervision, vehicle reversing aids such as cameras and sensors can help drivers be aware of what is directly behind a car.

“These devices are available on an increasing number of new vehicles, and can also be purchased as an after-market item for existing vehicles.

“I am committed to ensuring that Australia is an early adopter of ways to make vehicles safer, such as mandating reversing cameras and sensors in all cars sold in Australia.  There is a long way to go to make this happen.  It is not something Australia can do alone, but it certainly needs to be pursued.

“I have written to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which is the peak international body for developing vehicle standards asking it to examine measures to address driveway safety.

“I will also be contacting my counterparts in a number of countries to seek their support for this proposal—and their agreement to participate in an international study, led by Australia, of the effectiveness of reversing cameras.

“The Australian Government will continue to engage with the United States Government on the US proposal to mandate reversing cameras, which is due to presented at the end of the year.

Work is already underway in a number of other relevant areas in the UNECE and later this year the Department of Infrastructure and Transport will release a proposal to mandate Brake Assist Systems for public comment.

“Brake Assist Systems respond to a driver’s emergency braking action and help to shorten stopping distance, so these can potentially have application to driveway safety, as well as provide benefits for vulnerable road users generally,” Ms King said.

The report released today brings together for the first time data from the road traffic and police authorities in each jurisdiction, the National Hospital Morbidity Database and the National Coronial Information System.

Titled Child pedestrian safety: ‘driveway deaths’ and ‘low-speed vehicle run-overs’, Australia, 2001–10, the report is available at www.bitre.gov.au