The driveway of your home can become a dangerous place for children, and there are many cases of serious injuries or deaths in a driveway. These issues occur for a variety of reasons, but as a parent, you can find ways to protect your children in your home’s driveway. Here are some of the best tips for protecting your children in a driveway.
Tip 1: Teach Children Not to Play in a Driveway
It is not a good idea for children to play in a driveway because a driver may not see them while using a vehicle. In addition to the dangers from someone driving into the driveway from the street, there are dangers from someone opening a garage door to back out a vehicle. Your children shouldn’t use a driveway for playing ball or riding on a tricycle.
Tip 2: Have Your Children Stand in a Safe Location
While your children are waiting for someone to pick them up for school or another activity, they should stand in a safe location. It is better for a child to wait inside a home or on the front porch rather than standing on the driveway’s pavement. Tell your children to walk to a stopped vehicle rather than running outside to the driveway while the vehicle is in motion.
Tip 3: Remove Slippery Leaves from the Driveway’s Pavement
Keep your children safe from falls by removing slippery leaves or vehicle oil from the driveway’s pavement. You can use a broom to remove many types of slippery debris, but you can also use a power washer that blasts streams of water to remove dangerous substances.
Tip 4: Monitor Smaller Children When They Are Using a Driveway
If you are helping younger children to get into or out of a vehicle, then you should watch them closely. This is often difficult when multiple children need assistance getting into or out of their toddler car seats, so you will need to teach your children to stand next to you while their siblings are being helped.
Tip 5: Park Your Vehicle in a Forward Position
You should park your vehicle in a forward position to make it easier to load and unload your children. If this is impossible, then you must use additional precautions while backing the vehicle from the driveway. Today, the larger vehicles are making it more difficult to see small children who are standing in front or behind your vehicle.
Tip 6: Install a Dash Camera
If you install a dash camera on your vehicle, then you can also use it to help you see around the automobile. You should also learn how to use the mirrors on the vehicle so that you can see anything around that is moving.
Tip 7: Have Lighting Fixtures near the Driveway
Make it easier to see during inclement weather or at night by installing additional lighting fixtures around the driveway and a garage. There are light fixtures that are solar powered or that will use electricity.
