Kids in driveways at higher risk in Waikato - experts

File photo.

Fewer children are being run over in Auckland driveways due to public awareness and education campaigns, but the message hasn't spread to Waikato, researchers say.

Waikato University researchers analysed data on child driveway runovers for a Child Injury Prevention Foundation of New Zealand-commissioned project, looking specifically at the Waikato region for the first time.

Existing research had focused almost exclusively on Auckland data.

The researchers, social science students Hayley Mills Poulgrain and John Hunter, used data from the recently-launched Midland Regional Trauma System.

The latest figures, between 2006 and 2009, showed there were 12 accidents, two of them fatal, in the Waikato region compared to 43 accidents, with four fatalities, in Auckland.

In both regions, preschoolers were the most common victims of driveway runovers, which were more likely to happen late in the afternoon or early evening, especially in summer.

But the number of driveway runovers had decreased in Auckland, due to campaigns by Starship service Safekids New Zealand.

In the latest incident on Saturday, a four-week old baby was killed in Auckland when a car rolled backwards, knocking the child from its mother's arms.

A two-year-old was killed when struck by a reversing car in a house driveway in Wairoa in northern Hawke's Bay on March 22.

Following that death, Safekids director Ann Weaver said reversing cameras and parking sensors could make drivers aware of dangers as they reversed - a solution endorsed by the Waikato University researchers.

It cost around $550 to install a camera.

They also recommend visibility aids such as reflective viewers to overcome blind spots when turning on residential properties.

The researchers also suggested a virtual fence or "Kidcatcher" for properties where it was too expensive or impractical to permanently fence the driveway off from a children's play area.

The Kidcatcher was a durable net that could form a moveable physical barrier, but was not currently available in New Zealand.

But there was no substitute for active parental supervision of young children, and driver vigilance, the researchers said.

- NZPA