AS Port Stephens is once again about to be flooded with visitors, it is time to reflect on children on and around the road.

For parents holidaying with children it is time to be extra vigilant.

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Sometimes the excitement of getting to the beach or the next activity hampers a child from remembering all the road safety messages that you have been hammering in for the past few years.

The founders of the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation want everyone to slow down, and make sure children are safe around roads.

Aussie mum Michelle McLaughlin knows first-hand the heartbreaking reality of losing a child to road trauma, after the death of her four-year-old son Tom in a pedestrian road crash on the NSW Central Coast in 2014.

Tom was on a family holiday when he lost his life, his family are keen to help reduce the risk of losing a child the same way for other families.

Andrew Behrens, Port Stephens Council Acting Assets Section Manager told News Of The Area, “We’ve installed signs in partnership with the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation (LBDF).

“They’re located on Victoria Parade, Nelson Bay foreshore and all the way through to Shoal Bay and Fingal Bay.

“There is also a large ‘Holiday Time: Slow Down – Kids Around’ message board near our depot on Nelson Bay Road.

“After two years of pandemic and a spike in travel means that we’re expecting one of the most dangerous Christmas holiday periods with high volumes of regional travel, coupled with young children who are less prepared for unfamiliar holiday environments.

“Land transport crashes are the leading cause of death for Australian children aged one to fourteen.

“Please slow down and be on the lookout for children around the high pedestrian areas and foreshore of Nelson Bay, Shoal Bay and Fingal Bay.

“Our Road Safety and Traffic team are encouraging all parents to have a ‘road safety chat’ with your children about the unfamiliar environment, hold the hand of children under ten when near the road, use traffic lights and pedestrian crossings where possible and walk between your child and the road,” said Mr Behrens.

By Marian SAMPSON