Drivers are reminded to look out for young children in driveways as the Georgina Josephine Foundation launches the first annual National Low Speed Vehicle Run Over Prevention Awareness Day.
The inaugural awareness day is in memory of Georgina Josephine Cockburn who was just 15 months old when fatally injured in the driveway of her family’s home in Young, on April 16, 2011.
The family’s life changed when her father Peter returned home from work and was reversing his trailer and ute into the garage of the family home and tragedy struck.
“I didn’t realise my little girl was in the garage and unfortunately ran over her and lost her on the spot,” he said.
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said the day is an important reminder for everyone to take care when using driveways.
“In NSW, at least 12 children under 17 years have been killed and 27 seriously injured in driveway crashes since January 2013,” Mr Toole said.
“With more children and parents now at home adjusting to the current restrictions, it’s really important for everyone in the family to be aware of the safety risks associated with driveways, particularly for young children.”
Georgina’s parents Peter and Emma, who established the Georgina Josephine Foundation, have been fighting hard to protect other parents from experiencing the pain of losing their child in this way.
Peter said the foundation’s aim is to reduce driveway deaths and injuries and develop support services for affected families.
“When we lost Georgy our lives were changed forever,” he said.
“There’s nothing we can do to bring her back, but we want others to learn from our experience.
“In these unprecedented times, we take the opportunity to highlight that out-of-routine circumstances may lead to tragedy. We encourage you to continue to supervise children around driveways, separate driveways from play areas and look around your vehicle to see where children are whenever you get behind the wheel.”
For driveway safety advice, tips on home design to reduce the risk of driveway hazards and more visit: gjfoundation.com.au or roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au
Protect against driveway dangers
Peter Cockburn returned home from work and was reversing his trailer and ute into the garage of the family home when tragedy struck.
