Council Watch

Watching Central Coast Council on behalf of fair-minded and reasonable people.

Central Coast Council Watch

Hold my hand around traffic – message from Tom

by

Tom McLaughlin

 

Ten childcare centres on the Central Coast will take part in a pilot program to educate parents and protect children from being hit by cars – the most common cause of death of children aged 0-14.
More than one child a week dies on Australian roads.
Tom, pictured above, died at MacMasters Beach in 2014, the result of a collision with a car.
His mother, Michelle McLaughlin, has campaigned for increased safety initiatives since his death, creating The Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation.
Over the last decade, 587 children aged 0-16 years were killed in a road fatality crash, with 22% of those fatalities occurring when the child was a pedestrian, as Tom was, or a cyclist.
“imagine the response if those 587 deaths happened in a single event,” Mrs McLaughlin said.
“It is especially important for young children to hold their carer’s hand when around busy roads.
“My family knows first-hand the heartbreaking reality of losing a child to road trauma,” she said.
Mrs McLaughlin said kids were excitable, unpredictable and fast, and holding their hands around cars and traffic was lifesaving, as important as seatbelts in cars.
 
In a press conference today at Terrigal Children’s Centre, Mrs McLaughlin explained that:
1/ kids don’t have good peripheral vision until aged about ten;
2/ Their hearing can’t discern the direction of a car without seeing it;
3/ Their height is an issue; they can be hidden from drivers; and they have
4/ Slower reflexes.
 
Council has continued to support the Foundation first initiated by Gosford Council in 2014.
“Over the past nine years, the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation has partnered with 68 LGAs in four Australian states with its signage and media campaigns. This pilot program is very important, and we thank Central Coast Council for being so proactive,” Mrs McLaughlin said.

Administrator Rik Hart said Council will be helping to build safety awareness by installing metal ‘Hold My Hand’ signs, created by the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation, outside of each participating child care facility.

“Council is proud to support this pilot work of Little Blue Dinosaur, which boosts the efforts of our road safety programs and increases child safety on Central Coast roads,” he said.

The participating childcare facilities are Kanwal Little Coast Kids, Kariong Child Care Centre, Niagara Park Children’s Centre, Northlakes Little Coast Kids, Terrigal Children’s Centre, Toukley Little Coast Kids, Umina Child Care Centre, Wyong Little Coast Kids, Kooloora Preschool and Peninsula Community Centre Long Day Care.

 

Member for Robertson, Dr Gordon Reid MP, also backs the project.

“As an emergency department doctor, I am very supportive of initiatives to reduce motor vehicle accidents involving children and boost road safety awareness,” Dr Reid said.

“The Australian Government will continue working to improve road safety for pedestrians, especially children, in partnership with organisations like the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation and Central Coast Council.”

 

When struck by a car travelling at 50 kilometres an hour or more, a person has a more than 90% chance of dying.

If the car is travelling at 40 kilometres an hour; the risk of dying is reduced to 55%.

Mrs McLaughlin said Tom has a job to do, albeit through her.

So listen to Tom. He wants parents and carers to hold kids’ hands around cars and roads.