Why aren't school zones in force around daycare centres?!

I chose my daycare partly for the quiet street. Unfortunatley now that daycare spots are rare as hens’ teeth people have to take what they can get.

But it isn’t as easy as people think to supervise little kids over roads. Three kids, carry one, carry three daycare bags, (no hands left to hold the other two – even the 2 yr old is on his own) then put everything down to open the child proof gate – I can’t wait til I dont’ have to deal with all this in the mornings.

Henry82 said :

milkman said :

Better still, ban 4WDs, which were what all the parents were driving when they hit their own kids.

To be fair, the type of car wouldn’t make much of a difference – it’s still a 1 tonne chunk of steel on wheels. It looks like parents will need to be more proactive in accounting for kids before reversing.

>”Superintendent Waites denied that either larger 4WDs or the lack of a reverse camera contributed to the deaths.”

It wasn’t a serious comment, just another example of making a silly conclusion..

Milkman – Here we go again with the “Ban 4WDs” movement. Get over it, isn’t going to happen. Your reasoning for banning them will also take away all the people movers, work vans and pretty much all our heavy transport industry. Not all the accidents recently were 4WDs either.
Now suppose you get your way, where do you draw the line as to what is a 4WD and what isn’t? A Subaru Forrester for instance, or a Honda HRV?
The parents are ultimately responsible for the safety of their children, especially when around motor vehicles and traffic flow.
Has anyone got statistics on deaths or injuries to children by vehicles outside day care centers to support this push? I’d like to know.

I tend to agree that lowering the speed limit to school zone will have only an effect on a small number of drivers… BUT my idea is – perhaps write to council asking for speed hump/s near the centre, might be a viable option? it has worked for some of the areas where i am…. the other thing that has worked is asking the local police centre to come down intermitantly but often for a few weeks to fine the speeding drivers and regulars may slow down in the general area then, our school street is a rat run street and have the speed humps and police presence has really helped to slow drivers down, also gave the police rookies a bit of practice. Good Luck BethiePrice

EvanJames said :

I think we need to build special child complexes, where everything is extremely safe for children. Trouble is, you’d have to keep the parents out because it is overwhelmingly parents who pose the greatest risk to children, statistically.

I like the idea though of concerned parents standing outside schools and bombarding speeding cars with eggs and rotting vegetables. I think that would be way more effective than the threat of speed cameras.

I swear I have seriously considered actually doing this! Or better still, throw a child-sized dummy under their wheels as they speed past, just to get the message through.

milkman said :

Better still, ban 4WDs, which were what all the parents were driving when they hit their own kids.

To be fair, the type of car wouldn’t make much of a difference – it’s still a 1 tonne chunk of steel on wheels. It looks like parents will need to be more proactive in accounting for kids before reversing.

>”Superintendent Waites denied that either larger 4WDs or the lack of a reverse camera contributed to the deaths.”

buzz819 said :

Ate said :

With 4 children tragically dying this fortnight after being hit by cars, I think we can say that no one can possibly watch a child every second of the day and it only takes one milisecond for something so horrible to happen its hard to fathom.

The child care workers at this centre didnt even know the child was missing. I am all for school zones around day care centres.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/fury-as-toddler-wanders-from-childcare-centre-20110525-1f3n4.html

Didn’t these children die in driveways?? Maybe driveways should have a no reversing and 1 km/h limit?

Better still, ban 4WDs, which were what all the parents were driving when they hit their own kids.

I think we need to build special child complexes, where everything is extremely safe for children. Trouble is, you’d have to keep the parents out because it is overwhelmingly parents who pose the greatest risk to children, statistically.

I like the idea though of concerned parents standing outside schools and bombarding speeding cars with eggs and rotting vegetables. I think that would be way more effective than the threat of speed cameras.

Ate said :

With 4 children tragically dying this fortnight after being hit by cars, I think we can say that no one can possibly watch a child every second of the day

You know, we could ban parents from having cars when they have kids. That would have solved the problem. Or we could discuss the issue at hand, not something off-topic.

Just another call for “them” ie, the government, to solve a problem of parental inabilities.

blimkybill said :

There are important differences between a school and a day care centre:
– all day care centre have child proof fences, whereas schools are not necessarily fenced
– all parents must bring their children right into day care centres and sign them in, not allow them to make their own way there or take themselves in.

In essence there are no children walking or riding around outside day care centres without an adult right with them. I think that’s enough of a reason not to make them like a school zone.

+1

If a child manages to get out of a childcare centre on their own, there is something seriously wrong with the supervision and the centre is liable for neglecting their duty of care. It’s not any different from letting your toddler wander out of your house and across the road on his own.

And I also agree that the d!ckheads that speed through a 50kph zone are not likely to slow down because there’s a school zone sign. You can come watch this at our school’s school zone in the morning. Bring some eggs or rotten tomatoes to throw at cars.

I don’t think it’s feasible to apply 40 kph outside day care centres. Where do you draw the line? Home day care in individual residences? Should we drive at 40kph past ALL houses in case there’s a toddler in there? Because there is probably much more risk of a toddler exiting a suburban house than a daycare centre.

It may not be possible to watch a toddler every second of the day; what you do is you watch them vigilantly UNLESS they are in a secure fenced area that they cannot get out of. Onus is on adults around children to keep them safe.

Ate said :

With 4 children tragically dying this fortnight after being hit by cars, I think we can say that no one can possibly watch a child every second of the day and it only takes one milisecond for something so horrible to happen its hard to fathom.

The child care workers at this centre didnt even know the child was missing. I am all for school zones around day care centres.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/fury-as-toddler-wanders-from-childcare-centre-20110525-1f3n4.html

Didn’t these children die in driveways?? Maybe driveways should have a no reversing and 1 km/h limit?

Having a sign out the front isn’t going to slow the 3 out of 5 drivers down to an appropriate speed; we’ve seen how effectively lowering the speed limit to 50km/h in the suburbs has worked to slow traffic. Also; Besides, cost of roadsigns, parents should be walking hand-in-hand with those under 4, parents have the duty of care etc…

With 4 children tragically dying this fortnight after being hit by cars, I think we can say that no one can possibly watch a child every second of the day and it only takes one milisecond for something so horrible to happen its hard to fathom.

The child care workers at this centre didnt even know the child was missing. I am all for school zones around day care centres.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/fury-as-toddler-wanders-from-childcare-centre-20110525-1f3n4.html

fabforty said :

I guess this is because children young enough to be in day care should only be entering or leaving the place in the company of an adult.

yep, what he/she said, sounds plausible

There are important differences between a school and a day care centre:
– all day care centre have child proof fences, whereas schools are not necessarily fenced
– all parents must bring their children right into day care centres and sign them in, not allow them to make their own way there or take themselves in.

In essence there are no children walking or riding around outside day care centres without an adult right with them. I think that’s enough of a reason not to make them like a school zone.

I guess this is because children young enough to be in day care should only be entering or leaving the place in the company of an adult.

I would hope your 3 or 4 year old daughter wouldn’t be roaming outside the gates alone.

May as well make everywhere a school zone, because you never know when a ‘responsible’ adult carrying a child may want to walk near a road.

‘Won’t somebody please think of the children!’….

Not something I’ve ever thought of before! But you’ve raised a good point. We’re lucky in that our daycare is situated in a quiet residential street, on a hill and a curve, so traffic tends to slow around there anyway, and the amount of cars turning in and out at peak times slows it down even more. We also have a dedicated carpark, so only have to park out on the street when it’s full. But I definitely see where you’re coming from…maybe you could contact the Queanbeyan Council with your concerns?