Businessman Says Driveway Victory A Win For All Parents
An interim High Court decision over the use of shared driveways is a win for all parents wanting to protect their families, according to a leading CEO and child safety advocate.
The court ruled in favour of Wilshire Investments founder Evan Christian after a year-long legal battle with his neighbour.
Christian, who shares a driveway with several residents, planned to erect a private gate at the entrance of his property after he became increasingly concerned about the safety of his young children.
One of the neighbours, Cameron Gregory, objected and after negotiations failed, Christian removed the shared gate on his property as the first step to installing a new private gate further down the driveway. Gregory then applied to the High Court to have the shared gate reinstated on Christian’s property.
Christian hopes the recent court ruling will help other parents wanting to protect their children and says more action needs to be taken when it comes to making driveways safer in New Zealand.
Christian says it is not lost on him that many other parents would not have the funds to lodge a legal bid to ensure better safety for their children.
"I grew up in a state house where money was tight, but every child has the right to be provided with safe access to their home. My research shows that state houses are some of the most dangerous for children, with entrances opening directly onto the driveway.
“On average, every two weeks a child is either killed or hospitalised in New Zealand from an accident on a driveway. We need to do better than this for all of our kids," he says.
Christian says the first step to reducing driveway accidents is an immediate update of property design codes to provide greater focus on child safety.
He has joined forces with child injury prevention group Safekids to raise awareness of the issue and help finance the organisation's submission for the new unitary plan to include driveway safety as part of new building permits.
General Manager of Safekids, Ann Weaver, says the focus of the organisation is to build community awareness around checking for children before driving, highlighting the limitations cars have on a driver's field of view and the role that smart house design can play in reducing child injury statistics.
“Certainly shared driveways are of great concern, particularly with the speed issue and allocation of places for children to play away from the driveway,” she says.
“Evan is a passionate supporter of a number of our safety projects including a summer media campaign promoting safety in driveways, and we are very happy that he has moved one step closer to a safer drive for his own young children,” says Weaver.