{"id":4203,"date":"2023-03-23T23:04:22","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T12:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/?p=4203"},"modified":"2023-03-23T23:04:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T12:04:22","slug":"saving-young-lives-on-the-central-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/saving-young-lives-on-the-central-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving young lives on the Central Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UNSW Sydney Emeritus Professor Ann Williamson (L) and LBDF Co-Founder and CEO Michelle McLaughlin (R) with LBDF signage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Central Coast Council joins with Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation to boost child road safety awareness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
McLaughlin family<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation<\/a> has joined forces with Central Coast Council and the University of NSW \u2013 Transport and Road Safety Research Centre on an innovative new program which evaluates child pedestrian safety around local childcare centres, and promotes safety of children around cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation has received Federal Government grant funding from the National Office of Road Safety to co-design and implement the research pilot project. It is specifically focused on road safety initiatives to reduce child road trauma and will be rolled out in association with seven Local Government Areas in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, including the Central Coast Local Government Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to protect child pedestrians from the ever-present danger of roadways and moving motor vehicles, community education and road safety collaborations with government stakeholder partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Foundation was established in 2014 following the death of Michelle McLaughlin\u2019s four-year-old son, Tom McLaughlin (pictured above) due to a pedestrian-motor vehicle crash whilst on a family holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michelle McLaughlin said land transport crashes are the leading cause of death for Australian children aged 1 to 14<\/a>[1]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOver the last decade from 2013 to January 2023, 587 children aged 0-16 years were involved in a road fatality crash, with 22% of these fatalities occurring when the child was a pedestrian or a cyclist. On average, one child per week dies in Australia this way, and It\u2019s entirely preventable,\u201d Mrs McLaughlin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is especially important for young children to hold their carer\u2019s hand when around busy roads. My family knows first-hand the heartbreaking reality of losing a child to road trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOver 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation has also partnered with University of NSW to analyse the causes of child road trauma and death to identify better prevention strategies, and to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention methods. Based on the results of UNSW\u2019s research, The Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation developed a new community awareness campaign aimed at parents and caregivers of young children in preschools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is vital that parents understand why they must hold hands with their children in traffic environments,\u201d said Michelle McLaughlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cParents must actively always supervise children, especially those aged 1-10 years, who have significant cognitive, physical, and perceptual limitations around roadways. Due to these limitations, children are unable to keep themselves safe from road trauma events and need adults to perform this responsibility on their behalf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Central Coast Council Administrator Rik Hart welcomed Council\u2019s involvement in the project alongside 10 local child care centres across the Coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe safety of our children and preventing child road trauma on the Central Coast is of vital importance. This project with the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation will put pedestrian road safety at the top of all our minds,\u201d Mr Hart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCouncil will be helping to build safety awareness by installing metal \u2018Hold My Hand\u2019 signs, created by the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation, outside of each participating child care facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCouncil 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The participating childcare facilities are Kanwal Little Coast Kids, Kariong Child Care Centre, Niagara Park Children\u2019s Centre, Northlakes Little Coast Kids, Terrigal Children\u2019s Centre, Toukley Little Coast Kids, Umina Child Care Centre, Wyong Little Coast Kids, Kooloora Preschool and Peninsula Community Centre Long Day Care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local Member for Robertson, Dr Gordon Reid MP, also backs the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs an emergency department doctor, I am very supportive of initiatives to reduce motor vehicle accidents involving children and boost road safety awareness,\u201d Dr Reid said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thank the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation, Central Coast Council, and the University of NSW \u2013 Transport and Road Safety Research Centre, for this important road safety project,\u201d Dr Reid said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study taking place on the Central Coast will involve a pre-survey of attitudes about child pedestrian road safety; a community awareness\/educational campaign with educational resource materials supplied to the preschools and after school care facilities; and a post-survey of attitudes to child pedestrian road safety to gauge the impact of the project. At the end of the project, the awareness and education materials will remain at the participating centres. A summary of the results of the project will be available later in the year via the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2014, Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation has facilitated road safety signs in 68 LGAs, reaching millions of Australians. They are calling on more LGAs across the country to install this critical safety signage in areas of high pedestrian activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What everyone can do to increase child pedestrian safety: <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf       Just as it is vital for children to wear a seatbelt when in a vehicle, it is equally as important for children to practise safe behaviour as pedestrians around cars on our roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf       Children under 10 need to hold an adult\u2019s hand when near a busy road and children over 10 need to be reminded about the importance of being attentive near roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf       Parents should talk to their children about road safety but also remember it\u2019s just as important for adults to be aware and vigilant. Children are still learning and developing the abilities required to identify safe crossings and anticipate driver behaviour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf       Be cautious when on holiday or in new environments, particularly around areas of high pedestrian and vehicular activity. Road crashes take only a microsecond to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf       Speed is one of the greatest contributors to fatalities on our roads. The risk of death or serious injury is higher for children, even at very low speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf       Drivers should be on high alert for the safety of young pedestrians. Child pedestrians can move unpredictably, and their smaller size makes them harder for drivers to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25cf       Drivers need to slow down around busy areas and be extra attentive when parking and crossing driveways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information about the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation visit www.littlebluedinosaur.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australian Road Deaths Database Australian Institute for Health and Welfare<\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.aihw.gov.au\/reports\/life-expectancy-death\/deaths-in-australia\/contents\/summary<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UNSW Sydney Emeritus Professor Ann Williamson (L) and LBDF Co-Founder and CEO Michelle McLaughlin (R) with LBDF signage Central Coast Council joins with Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation to boost child…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sync_status":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[113,109],"tags":[],"series":[170],"class_list":["post-4203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-families","category-news-events","series-on-the-coast-families"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/UNSW-Sydney-Emeritus-Professor-Ann-Williamson-L-and-LBDF-Co-Founder-and-CEO-Michelle-McLaughlin-R-with-LBDF-signage.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastfamilies\/feed\/podcast\/on-the-coast-families","embedCode":"

Saving young lives on the Central Coast<\/a><\/blockquote>