Category Archives: Family

Seeing red: have your say on NSW’s worst roads

Featured

Posted on by
83

NRMA Seeing Red on Roads Annual SurveyHave you ever been behind the wheel and found yourself frustrated by congestion, a detour due to roadworks, pot holes or other delays?

More than 15,000 frustrated Members had their say last year in our annual Seeing Red on Roads survey. In 2013, both a federal election year and the third of our campaign, we want even more people to get behind the survey.

Over the last two years of the campaign, our Members have consistently flagged the Pacific and Princes Highways as the worst roads in the state. In response, we’ve seen record levels of funding committed by the government to start fixing both these roads.

In fact, since NRMA’s first Seeing Red on Roads campaign in 2011, governments have committed over $1.8 billion to fix the Pacific Highway and $240 million to fix the Princes Highway.

The NSW Government has also announced its WestConnex Project to fix the road NRMA Members voted as the worst in Sydney – Parramatta Road.

These major announcements show that our campaign works!

Although we’ve made a great start in getting these dangerous roads upgraded, there’s no better time than an election year to ensure NSW secures its fair share of federal road funding.

We encourage every NRMA Member to take part in the Seeing Red on Roads survey. With your support we can help make sure NSW gets much needed road investments.

Are the pot holes on your local street driving you nuts? Is the snail paced traffic during peak hour on your local motorway frustrating you? Whatever the issue, have your say here.

Will the Pacific Highway come out number one again or have the recent upgrades provided enough relief for North Coast motorists?

Below are the Top 10 Most Frustrating Roads in 2012 as voted by you. Click on the image below to enlarge.

Image

 

New Course for Learner Drivers

Posted on by
55
Learner Driver

LEARN SMART: Just in case you missed the recent news on the new course for learners, which will give a reduction in logbook hours, here is the latest info.

We’ve had a huge response from Members since we posted on our site and Facebook page that from the 1 July 2013 learners will be able to complete a Safer Drivers Course and get a reduction in logbook hours.

Just in case you missed it, here is the latest information.

What does the Course involve?

The Safer Drivers Course is a combined theoretical and practical course. It will involve a facilitated group session discussing how to manage risks on the road and tailored in-car coaching addressing individual learning needs.

All up the course will take about five hours. The group session will run for two to three hours and the in-car coaching will be one to two hours.

The NRMA provided advice to the NSW Government Advisory Panel that developed the Course.

Do I still need to do 120 logbook hours?

Once you have done the Course your logbook hours reduce by 20 hours.

If you do the Course and do 10 hours of professional driving lessons your logbook hours go down to 80.

How much will it cost?

At this stage, we don’t know exactly how much it will cost to do the Course but the NSW Government has said the price will be affordable.

When will it be available?

The first group of learner drivers will do the course in July 2013. The Course will then be rolled out in NSW based on demand and provider availability.

What else has changed?

From 1 July 2013, learner drivers will be allowed to drive up to 90km/h instead of 80km/h. This will make sure that learners are supervised the first time they drive at 90km/h.

What do you think? Do you agree with these changes?

5 rest stops for your next family road trip

Posted on by
Reply

Road trips make for amazing family experiences and memories. In my family we’re known for just jumping in the car and driving for a spontaneous day out, as well as planned long road trips interstate or through the countryside.

A road trip isn’t the time to rush. Making plenty of stops is vital for safety and also, as parents around the country know, spending a little time keeping the kids happy will pay off during the long driving stretches.

Here’s how to make a rest stop work for the whole family:

Anyone on a road trip with children will attest to how difficult it is to drive past a country town’s local playground without dozens of requests to stop for a play.

Try timing meals and scheduled rests with towns likely to have playgrounds, and perhaps incorporate a picnic lunch with a play stop. If there aren’t any parks around (or if that isn’t your kids’ thing) grab a football, cricket bat or a kite, or even just have a family race on a local oval. Even a half an hour play means the kids will thank you – and you’ll be pleased you took the time to keep them happy.

Driver swap stop

It’s pretty tiring being in the same seat for an entire road trip, so if you have a long way to go you’ll need to give the navigator and music selector a break. I mean, the driver. The driver!

Seriously, the exhaustion of focusing on the road can creep up on drivers so you need to set a time limit on yourself rather than wait to feel the need to change gears from the pilot to the passenger. NRMA recommends stopping at least every two hours to avoid fatigue setting in.

If you don’t have anyone to share the driving with you’ll need to counteract the fatigue even more proactively. Some drivers are happy to take a quick power nap at rest stops, while others won’t have this option (when travelling with kids). In that case, sleep stops will mark the end of the day and a place to stay, and it’s time to get a good night’s sleep before heading off the next day.

Food stop

My husband prides himself on knowing the towns with the best bakeries, his specialty being great coffee, a good pie and a donut. Whether that suits your tastebuds or you’d prefer a fresh salad roll or a great café meal, stopping for food regularly is one of the best things you can do to rejuvenate the driver and keep the passengers satisfied.

Keep snacks in the car for in between meal stops – there isn’t a recipe for a miserable road trip truer than a backseat full of hungry kids – and make sure you let the family know when stops are planned so they can gear up their tastebuds for that perfect country bakery.

One tip, however: avoid rich foods and big milk drinks if you still have lots of driving ahead. No more details needed, just trust me on that one.

Dance stop

When my daughter was eight months old, we embarked on a road trip from Melbourne to Alice Springs. She was crawling around at the time – not a developmental stage conducive to being placed on the red dirt of the outback – and so we took to taking ‘dance stops’.

The dancing stop involves pulling to the side of the road, getting everyone out of the car and leaving the doors open. Then the music is cranked up and you dance with the kids; the young ones are spun around in your arms, and any older kids shake their thing alongside you. An amazing way to boost the fun mood of a road trip and get rid of any excess energy, and it also means you don’t have to push on to the next town before stopping for a break, which NRMA lists as one of the biggest potential dangers of country driving.

Sightseeing stop

Choose some things you want to stop and see along the way, and combine this with some spontaneous stops to see the sights.

This will not only get you out of the car – perhaps for a short walk, an exciting new sight, or even just a few snaps on the camera – but also keep you excited about the reason you’re out on the road. That is, to see new things and enjoy the experience. It’s easy to get caught up in getting the kilometres behind you, but don’t forget to stop and refresh the whole family with some views of our amazing countryside.

Keeping kids safe in the driveway

Posted on by
11

This week’s guest blogger Kate Pickle was a preschool teacher in a past life (ie before kids). Here, she discovered a passion for understanding small humans, plus a great outlet for her creative streak. Nowadays, she is a stay-at-home Mum with lots of chickens and a start-stop veggie garden. Kate blogs at picklebums.com.

Child with football behind car

PLAY SAFE: Knowing the dangers associated with children in the driveway and knowing how quickly and easily an accident can occur is a good way to prevent it.

CRUNCH!

I hear the sound from inside the house and come running out to see what has happened. As my husband pulls the car forward the crumpled bike is revealed from under the back bumper.

There’s no damage to the car and it’s just an old bike, but I know what we are both thinking…

“I didn’t see it at all,” he says ashen faced, “…imagine if that was one of the kids.”

It’s one of those stories I hear on the news every now and then. A child has been killed, run over in the driveway by their family car.  A tragedy that will affect that family forever. And my heart sinks, because that could easily be our family. It could easily have been a child instead of a bike.

We both drive large cars, we have four kids, we have to drive large cars to fit them all in. Large cars are often high off the ground and the visibility of a small object that is close to you is minimal at best. Often, like with the bike – even when using mirrors and double checking – you can’t see anything at all.

So how do we stop a tragedy happening to our family? How can we make sure our driveway is safe?

Choose a car with better rear visibility

When we looked at updating my husband’s 4WD, high on the list of priorities was a car that had a reversing camera. The bike incident had really rattled him and having a car that had better rear visibility was important.

You can find more information about choosing a car with better rear visibility here.

While the rear camera helps, it is not fool proof. Children move fast and sometimes you may not see a child in your rear camera until it is too late. So a rear camera is just one thing you can do to help keep your kids safe.

Educate your children about driveway safety

We have eight year old twins, a five year old and a two year old. All of them know that it is not safe to be out on our driveway when cars are moving.

We have taught them that the safe place to be is either in the car, or up on our high front veranda. If they are standing on the veranda the car driver can see them all clearly and know they are safe, and they are to stay there until the driver tells them it is okay to move.

We also teach our kids that it is not safe to play around cars. Playing between or behind parked cars is never okay as you just don’t know when a car might move without knowing you are there.

Supervise your kids

Our older kids are very aware of the rules and the danger, but even at 8 years of age,  kids can be unpredictable, they can get mixed up, or forget, and the two year old only has a passing interest in any ‘rules’ or ‘dangers’. So no matter how well educated our kids are, there is no substitute for supervision.

Always supervise your children whenever a car is to be moved: hold their hands or hold them close to keep them safe. If there is not another adult to supervise them standing on the veranda, then the best place for them to be is safely restrained in the car.

Educate yourself

Knowing the dangers associated with children in the driveway and knowing how quickly and easily an accident can occur is a good way to prevent it. Being vigilant, taking the extra time to make sure everyone is safe and double checking every time we move the car are things we always do to keep our kids safe.

Terrible accidents happen, even to good people, with good intentions, but if we are educated about the dangers we can do our best to avoid them.

Talk to NRMA experts at the Baby and Toddler Show to find out how you can keep your child safe in and around the car (NRMA Members get 40% off tickets)

You can also find more information on driveway safety here.

What rules do you set for your kids to keep them safe around cars?

You can also join the conversation on Twitter. Just use the #NRMAChildSafe hashtag to share your thoughts.

Choosing a child-friendly car

Posted on by
2

Claire HewittThis week’s guest blogger Claire Hewitt is a mum, a marketing guru and a domestic goddess failure who often waffles on about her love of handwriting. She works in Social Media for a large Melbourne maternity hospital, where she gets to have her fix of gorgeous babies without having to give birth to them. Claire also writes a personal blog at claireyhewitt.blogspot.com

Children on board

BABY ON BOARD: To ensure you get what you need first time around, here are a few things to consider when you go to buy a child-friendly car.

 

So you’re having a baby!

Initially you might think that the two door sports car you have will be okay… chances are you won’t think that for long.

For many people the car you already have will be just fine. But for others, a new baby or new siblings for baby number one, mean a different car is required. To ensure you get the car you need first time around here are a few things to consider when you go off to buy a child-friendly car.

  • The Hatch
    The first thing I learnt with my small car when I drove it with my first baby, was a rearward facing seat gets an enormous amount of sun from the rear window. If it’s a two-door car with a steeply sloping rear window, the baby is even closer to direct heat and sunlight. The way an infant lies in a rearward facing car seat means they are looking almost directly towards the sky and the sun. If you have a summer baby like I did you will need to organise decent sun/heat protection as the baby can overheat quickly in a car in direct sunlight.
  • Hello Siblings
    More kids, either now or on the way, means more car seats, so checking how many car seats can actually fit across the back of your car is important. Remember that once they are in a booster you also need to be able to get your hands down between the car seats to buckle them up. If you need a car that has seven (or more) seats you will need to look at how the seats are configured, where you can place your required car seats and if there is any room left for luggage. Make sure the position you want to use has a top tether anchorage point.Use the NRMA Child Restraint Fitting Guide to check out how many restraints fit in your car.
  • Additional Seats
    One of our cars comes with the option of pulling up additional seats in the very back of the station wagon. These seats provide two additional seats for children over the age of four years and under 150cms. With only two children a larger seven-seater car wasn’t really a requirement but having the option of carting around extra kids has already been useful. It does take up the boot space so if you require the use of seven seats all the time it wouldn’t be the best option.
  • New to You Cars
    If you are looking at a New to You car (sometimes called used cars) ensure that there are anchor points for you to place your car seats. Some older cars may only have one or two rather than three options to place a seat. Very old cars may not even have a single anchor point. Some cars also only have a lap belt rather than a full lap/sash seat belt in some positions in the car – these should not be used if at all avoidable.
  • The Back End
    Just as important as what you fit in the back seat is what you can (or can’t) fit in the boot. That first little car I had came with a really decent boot spacebut the actual opening was too small for the pram to fit through. A little

    SITTING PRETTY: Booster seats that can be used by children over the age of four.

    car boot will require you to totally dismantle your pram, including the wheels, to get it in your car. This becomes very annoying pretty quickly. Once you have a few shopping bags, nappy bags, school bag and the odd scooter or two for the bigger kids that boot space becomes valuable real estate. Sometimes boot space is also limited further by the straps from the car seats too.

  • Built In Boosters
    Another feature of some cars are built in booster seats. These are booster seats that can be used by children over the age of four years. We have a car that includes these seats but we choose to use seats that have back and side protection instead.

For the Grown Ups (Mums and Dads usually have a few things on the wish list too.)

  • Safety
    Safety should be top of the list for any car, be it new or used. Look for the safest car within your budget constraints. It can be difficult when you are looking at multiple cars down at a dealership or an online car shop to tell which car will do well in an accident. Check out the NRMA ANCAP Reviews and Used Car Safety Ratings for accurate information on both new and used cars.
  • FeaturesIPod/Phone connections. New cars and new gadgets mean you have no excuse at all to be driving and using your phone. Having an iPod filled with songs, podcasts or stories to entertain the kids may also help to make a long trip more manageable for everyone and when (if) you get the car minus the kids you can flick on your own choice of tunes. Most new cars will also offer a range of extra features, for instance reversing cameras, navigation  and DVD screens.Luxury vehicles are now available with advanced driver assistance systems such as automatic braking if you get too close to the car in front, lane departure warning that sounds an alarm if you stray over the lane line without indicating, and a blind spot warning if a vehicle is in your blind spot. We can expect that these systems will become more common on less expensive vehicles soon.
  • Fuel consumption
    Becoming a taxi driver for the offspring means you may end up doing quite a few kilometres. There is nothing worse than having to fill up with fuel all the time. Check at http://www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au/ for the fuel consumption of the car you’re considering.
  • Service/Repairs
    The other cost for cars is keeping them on the road. Look at what costs you need to get to straight up, how long until registration is due, does the car require additional insurance, how are the tyres and when is the next service due?  The NRMA’s Cost Calculator can help you with the cost of running a new car.

Last of all, remember your baby will be grown up pretty quickly and the things you want and need in a car will be totally different again.

Can you share any tips to help new parents manage their back-seat brood?