Keeping Kids safe in Car

Many children are killed or seriously injured in backover incidents. A backover incident typically occurs when a car coming out of a driveway or parking space backs over a child because the driver did not see him/her. These backover incidents typically involve toddlers that wander unnoticed into the path of a vehicle moving in reverse.

Prevention Tips:

• Teach children not to play in or around cars
• Supervise children carefully when in and around vehicles
• Always walk around your vehicle and check the area around it before backing up.
• Be aware of small children-the smaller a child, the more likely it is you will not see them.
• Teach children to move away from a vehicle when a driver gets in it or if the car is started.
• Have children in the area stand to the side of the driveway or sidewalk so you can see them as you are backing out of a driveway or parking space.
• Make sure to look behind you while backing up slowly in case a child dashes behind your vehicle unexpectedly.
• Take extra care if you drive a large vehicle because they are likely to have bigger blind zones. Roll down your windows while backing out of your driveway or parking space so that you'll be able to hear what is happening outside of your vehicle.
• Teach your children to keep their toys and bikes out of the driveway.
• Because kids can move unpredictably, you should actively check your mirrors while backing up.
• Many cars are equipped with detection devices like backup cameras or warning sounds, but they cannot take the place of you actively walking around your car to make sure your children are safely out of the way. Do not rely solely on these devices to detect what's behind your vehicle.

What you need to know, now:

• Every vehicle has blind zone areas. As the size and height of a vehicle increases, the blind zone area does as well.
• The elevation of the driver's seat, the shape of the windows and mirrors, and the slope of the road or driveway can affect the size of the blind zone behind the vehicle.
• Light trucks, SUVs, and vans, are more likely to be involved in backovers than cars.
• Backovers are often a result of a child following a parent or guardian to the driveway without the parent knowing.