Children, vehicles, bikes and skateboards

In the Northern Territory (NT), children under four years of age must not be in the front row of seats in a vehicle with two or more rows.

Children four to under seven years of age can only sit in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows when all other seats are occupied by children of a lesser age.

When in a vehicle all children under seven must be in a fitted and approved child restraint suited to their age, size and weight.

Read more about child restraints.

You should never:

• leave your keys in the car - children have crashed their parents' car or have become trapped in power windows
• leave children or pets locked in a car
• leave a young child alone in a car - they may:
  • get bored and explore the car's knobs and buttons
  • become distressed or try to struggle free from seatbelts and get injured
  • be in danger of someone trying to steal the car with them in it
  • become seriously ill when the temperature in the car increases quickly - this can happen in any season.

You should always:

• check your children are in a safe place before backing your car out of the driveway - put them in the car with you when moving it
• when driving always stop the car when you need to turn around to attend to your child in the back seat - it's easy to get distracted and have an accident
• make sure there is nothing loose on the dashboard, parcel shelf or floor - even a box of tissues can cause harm in an accident
• never put anything heavy in the back of a hatchback or station wagon unless it is safely secured
• make fences and gates childproof so young children can't get near traffic
• hold on to young children near roads - even if they can repeat road rules to you, they don't understand them yet, no matter how many times you tell them.

In the NT, children aged under 17 years must wear a helmet when riding a bike.

You should make sure your child wears a helmet and safety gear such as wrist guards, elbow and knee pads when using a scooter, skateboard, Segway, pennyboard, ripstick, roller skates or rollerblades.

Teach your child relevant road rules.

For more ideas, activities and tips go to the 7 Steps to Safety page on the Department of Children and Families website.