BLACK SATURDAY ANNIVERSARY: A TIME TO REFLECT ON THE JOURNEY TO COME (Weekly online)
■ We remember our founding patron Brian Naylor [former TV newsreader] and his wife Moiree [both killed in the Black Saturday fires at Kinglake West last year] fondly during this time.
VARIETY VICTORIA VIA ONLINE
SLOW DOWN NEAR SCHOOLS
■ Thousands of children headed back to school in Victoria last week, making our roads busier than they have been for some time.
Children are unpredictable and because of their size they can be difficult to see. For that reason, drivers should observe reduced speed limits around schools.
Since 40km/h speed zones were introduced in Victoria a decade ago there have been no deaths around schools in drop-off and pick-up zones. But Transport Accident Commission figures reveal children continue to be seriously injured on our roads, particularly as pedestrians and bike riders.
Our lawyers have seen first-hand the effects of road trauma. The physical and emotional impact of these accidents, on children and adults alike, can be devastating and lifelong.
I urge all drivers to slow down when driving in school zones to ensure we don’t have a tragic start to the academic year.
CRAIG LYNCH SLATER & GORDON MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT LAWYER
DON’T LEAVE KIDS IN CARS
■ Despite multiple warnings from the Coalition government, in the last week-long heatwave across Victoria (which ended on January 17), Ambulance Victoria was called to 50 cases of children left unattended in cars.
The temperature inside a parked car can be up to 20 to 30 degrees hotter than the outside temperature.
Even leaving children in the car for five minutes can lead to tragic results. The message is clear – if you are travelling with a child in a car and you need to get out of the car, even for just one minute, make sure you take the child with you.
I urge anyone who sees a child alone in a parked car to raise the alarm and call emergency services.
Victorian legislation makes leaving a child unattended in a car a criminal offence, with penalties ranging from fines of $2165 or three months in prison.
WENDY LOVELL CHILDREN AND EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT MINISTER
