22,000 Australians Injured...

Ok, if 22,000 Aussies were injured you would have heard about it by now, right?

Well, unless your monitoring the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s (ATSB) road trend statistics then theanswerr is probably ‘no’.

An article written by the ATSB titled 'Serious Injury Due To Road Crashes' discusses "the often forgotten side of the road toll, the 22,000 people who are seriously injured in road crashes each year".

By Looking Up and Staying Back, drivers can reduce incidents and accidents that lead to serious injury by allowing themselves more time and space to react to hazards.

Being able to 'Predict and Prepare' by anticipating potential hazards and adjusting your driving accordingly would clearly give you the best chance of avoiding injury.

So remember… Look Up, Stay Back & Be Safe.

Hot Tips for Kids in Cars

Travelling with children over summer has become a hot issue in the road safety area.

Car crashes are the number one cause of child accidental death in Australia and Kidsafe, which is a Child Accident Prevention Foundation program and Holden have combined to promote awareness of the problem.

Top of the list is the fitting and wearing of child restraint systems. Around 70 per cent of in-vehicle child restraints are incorrectly fitted or used and that accounts for a high percentage of serious injury.

So Holden has taken the initiative and is establishing a free child seat checking program at certain dealerships in the New Year.

In the meantime, parents should be aware of the following while travelling with children over the summer period:

- Double check that the harness fits the child (Contact Kidsafe on 9427 1008 for a brochure).

- Do not use a hood to protect the baby from the sun when using rear facing restraints. It will decrease airflow around the baby's head. Instead, use a visor or sun shade.

- Provide plenty of cool fluids and offer them regularly.

- Dress children in light colours and light weight fabrics to promote air flow around the body.

- Stop at least every two hours for exercise. Baby also needs stretch and exercise time so let it roll on a rug on the ground.

- Never leave children alone in a car (buckled up or not) while you run a quick errand.

- Avoid travelling in the hottest parts of the day when planning your trip.

Research by Holden and Kidsafe shows that airflow decreases inside a car when temperature and humidity begin to rise. The younger the child, the faster the onset of heatstroke and dehydration.

On a typical Australian summer day, the temperature inside a parked car can be as much as 30 to 40 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. For example, on a 30 degree day, the inside car temperature could be as high as 70 degrees.

And larger cars heat up just as quickly as smaller cars. Winding windows down by five centimetres causes only a slight temperature drop.

© Murcotts Driving Excellence 2006