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Detached / Details / Accommodating Cars / Designing the driveway, shared accessway or lane /

4.1Design your driveway, car access and parking to be safe for children

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​​Design Checklist​

  1. ​​Carparking and access is safe for children​.​​​​
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Regulatory Note
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Regulatory Note

Regulatory Note

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Driveways and onsite manoeuvring areas carry considerable risk to small children, as shown by the many accidents and fatalities that occur on driveways every year in New Zealand. 

Such incidents are generally associated with stand alone low density houses on quiet streets and are rare in higher density developments.​

In designing driveways for safety, the key outcomes are to make sure that children can be kept away from cars, are easy to see if they are on a driveway and have room to get away from any moving vehicles. There are many easy design options which can achieve these outcomes and dramatically improve the safety of driveways.​​ ​

Better Design Practice

Keep front fencing as low as possible.
This is so children are visible if they are behind it, and so that cars can be seen coming down the driveway. 


Provide a separate path from the front door to the street for pedestrians.
Front doors should not open directly on to driveways. 


Provide a properly fenced and gated secured area for small children to play.
Another option is to fence off vehicle garaging and parking from children’s play spaces. 


Design the house and garage to ensure that there are no areas near where cars will be moving where children can hide. 


Provide a 500mm wide planting strip of grass, soft shrubs or trees (with any low canopy removed) next to any fence along a driveway or accessway.
This is to provide sufficient space between a car and the fence for a child stand in order to avoid being struck.​


Minimise onsite parking.
This encourages visitors to park on the street. 


​Only provide onsite manoeuvring spaces if absolutely essential.
Ensure it does not compromise the outdoor space and is away from the front door.