Avoiding Back-Over Tragedies

Avoiding Back-Over Tragedies

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently proposed a new safety regulation to help eliminate blind zones behind vehicles that hide pedestrians, young children and the elderly. The proposal would expand the required field of view for all passenger cars, pickup trucks, minivans, buses and low-speed vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 10,000 pounds so that drivers can see directly behind the vehicle when the vehicle is in reverse. If passed, automobile manufacturers will have to install rear mounted video cameras and in-vehicle displays to meet the proposed standards. "U.S. DOT Proposes Rear View Visibility Rule to Protect Kids and the Elderly,"NHTSA (Dec. 3, 2010).

The Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007 is named after a two-year-old boy who was killed when his father accidentally backed over him in the family's driveway,

Commentary

An average of 292 fatalities and 18,000 injuries occur every year as a result of back-over accidents according to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Approximately 33 percent of fatalities are elderly people 70 years of age or older. Nearly 44 percent of fatalities are children under the age of five.

Most back-over accidents happen at home in driveways or in parking lots.
The NHTSA recommends the following precautions to reduce the risk of back-over accidents:

• Always supervise children while playing outside.
• Teach children to never play near motor vehicles, even if they're parked.
• If children play in your driveway, park your car at the end of it near the street.
• Check for playing children around your vehicle before getting in and backing up.
• Check all of your mirrors before putting the car in reverse and back up slowly.
• Provide children with a safe, fenced-in area to play outdoors and consider fencing off the driveway so children cannot wander onto it.