Cars injure hundreds of WA children. Here’s a plan to put that trend in reverse

Just over a week ago, a five-year-old boy was killed after being hit by a car along a residential street in Western Australia’s far north.

In June 2024, a three-year-old boy was found on the side of the road in Bayswater after a suspected hit-and-run and was rushed to Perth Children’s Hospital with a serious leg injury.

Valuing Children Initiative development executive Sarah Quinton with her son Jarvis at a street party in Eden Hill.

These stories are not unique, with Main Roads WA stating 250 WA children were injured or killed by cars between 2020 and 2024.

The figures have sparked worry from concerned parents and community members who would like nothing more than to let children play outside, but fear the consequences.

Organisation the Valuing Children Initiative is hoping to ease that fear.

Its development executive Sarah Quinton said communities across WA had become “car dominated”.

“Research shows that children are playing less on our streets because of a lack of obvious safety measures coupled with driver’s attitudes that they ‘own’ the road,” she said.

“Children have as much right to use our roads and to be part of our community as adults.

“While some people informally close their roads with bins, it’s not legal and cars drive straight through, making it dangerous for kids.”

Quinton said it cost a fortune to close a street legally and even then, cars could still technically drive through.

In response, she set up several ‘street parties’ in the Town of Bassendean, using grant money from Town Teams’ Streets Alive project, funded through Main Roads.

Families turned out to make use of the closed-off streets, selling homemade goods and playing games.

But the parties had another motive – to ask the children who attended why they believed the streets were unsafe.

Speeding cars, and a lack of footpaths and adult supervision were the top responses.

Parents also had a chance to contribute, with one stating even a roundabout along their street did not slow cars down, with some flying through at 70 kilometres per hour.

“It terrifies me that my three-year-old will be close to the road and no one would see her,” they said.

The findings will be compiled and presented to the local council as reasons why a street play policy should be developed, with the aim to remove some of the red tape and allow streets to close more often.

Quinton said part of the policy would also focus on drivers’ attitudes, and on community campaigns to change their mindset.

The Valuing Children Initiative is gathering the information received from the street parties and will make a presentation to council at the March meeting on what should change.

A ‘child expert’ at one of the street parties.

The specifics of how that change could be implemented would be worked out once the idea for a policy was accepted.

Once organised at a local level, Quinton said she was eager to push for a statewide street play policy and would contact the road safety minister.

Town Teams has supported 61 grassroots initiatives to make the streets safer in its first grants round, and is hoping to help a similar number this year.

Its co-founder Jimmy Murphy said there was a rising road toll across WA and Australia, and that engaging the community in road safety was even more important.

He said getting young people involved through the street parties was a wonderful idea.

“We can all be a part of saving lives,” he said. “Awareness and concern around road safety is increasing as the road toll increases.

“People are now motivated to be more conscious and get involved in solutions so they feel they have some control over that rising number.”

Murphy said getting families out on the streets to play would resolve another issue: that of social isolation.

“Over the decades we have retreated behind fences and stopped engaging with our community,” he said.

A Main Roads WA spokesperson said 68 young people were injured or killed by a car in 2021, compared to 38 in 2024.

“Although the figures have been decreasing, Main Roads has managed and administered the Urban Road Safety Program, which implements low-cost safety treatments at intersections and mid-block sections of local roads with existing speed limits of 50 kilometres per hour or less,” they said.

“The aim of the program is to reduce the total number of fatalities and serious injuries, creating a safer environment for the community.”

By June this year, Main Roads will have implemented static signs to lower speed limits at all children’s crossings, that will gradually be replaced with electronic speed limit signs on roads with a posted speed limit of 60 kilometres per hour or higher by June 2028.

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