Another tot hit by car in driveway

Another toddler has been seriously injured after being hit by a vehicle in a driveway.

New Zealand has some of the worst statistics in the Western world for driveway accidents involving young children.

Three children under 3 have died after being run over since September.

In the latest incident, a 17-month-old boy suffered a suspected fractured skull when he was hit by a four-wheel-drive. The accident happened as his father reversed down the driveway of the family home in Wairakei on Saturday morning.

Taupo traffic sergeant Dave Frazer said the boy was knocked over after walking out of the house.

"It appears that he's wandered out after dad's gone out to move the truck."

The Lion Foundation Rescue Helicopter flew the boy to Waikato Hospital, where he was reported to be in a stable condition last night.

Mr Frazer said police were unlikely to press charges against the father.

Driveway accidents have been identified as a leading cause of death and injury among young children in New Zealand. Safekids, the hospital's child safety service, estimates an average of four children a year die in such accidents.

Four-wheel-drive vehicles have been implicated in many cases.

A 2002 study found 4WDs were involved in 28 per cent of driveway accidents, even though they made up just 6 per cent of registered vehicles in Auckland. And an Australian study showed that driving a 4WD made people 2.5 times more likely to run over their child in a driveway.

From 1994 to 1998, 299 New Zealand children were admitted to hospital after being hit by a vehicle, mostly driven by their father.

Prosecutions are rare because driveways fall outside traffic law jurisdiction. The proposed Land Transport Amendment Bill could change that, allowing police to charge drivers with reckless, careless or dangerous driving on private property causing injury or death.

The high rate of driveway accidents has been blamed on the shape of our driveways, which typically sit at the back of properties and require vehicles to reverse out on to the road.

Home dangers

* An estimated four children are killed every year in driveway accidents.
* Three children aged 2 and under have died since September.
* One child a fortnight is admitted to Auckland's Starship Hospital.