More Deaths Attributed To Cars' Blind Spots
Test Shows Blind Spots Often Larger Than Expected
UPDATED: 10:30 a.m. EST November 7, 2003
BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Think about the last time you were backing out of
your driveway. Do you remember actually looking to see if anything was behind you -- like a bike, a pet or a child?
Few of us would ever imagine our driveways could be dangerous. But with more people driving bigger minivans and sport utility vehicles -- with larger blind spots -- the danger is not only real, but deadly.
Living on a street with a number of young kids worries Sarah Brown and some of the other moms in her neighborhood.
"I think it's a very big concern, especially in neighborhoods where we live," Brown said. "Everyone's backing out of driveways, and there's children always playing along the sidewalk."
They also have heard the tragic stories of other parents, like
Fred Kalmin.
"Unknown to me, my 2-year-old, Marlie, was behind the car, and
I ran over her once, not knowing I ran over her," Kamlin said. "And, not knowing what happened, (I) put the car in forward and went back into the garage and ran over her a second time."
Kalmin accidentally killed Marlie backing out of their driveway on Christmas day.
When Brown got her new Chevy Tahoe a year ago, she said she knew the blind spot would be bigger than the one on her Volvo wagon.
With the help of her two children, NewsChannel 5 set out to
Find out just how much bigger the blind spot on her SUV is.
Wyatt, 3, was in his 4-wheeler with his sister, Isabella, nearby.
The kids were placed 5 feet from the bumper.
"And I can't see anything at all," Brown said.
So we moved to 15 feet.
"No, I can't see (anything) in either of the mirrors," Brown said.
Back another 10 feet.
"I can't see anything. I can't see anything in the middle either. Nothing to the left or the right," Brown said.
Finally, at 35 feet, Brown could just barely make out the top of Wyatt's head.
"Just Wyatt, but I couldn't see Isabella, really," she said. "I was a little bit surprised."
In another test, NewsChannel 5 videotaped what a driver might see in the mirrors of an SUV. Nothing showed up in either the rear-view or side mirrors.
There were 13 kids standing behind the car.
"That was interesting how you did that, because it
was obvious that (even with) many kids, you still couldn't see when you were sitting in the car," said Brown's neighbor, Melissa Felichelli, who runs a preschool in Morrisonville.
Fifty-eight children were backed over and killed in their own driveways
last year. To add to the grief, in most cases, it was one of their parents behind the wheel.
So far this year, 55 children have died after being run over by a car that was backing up.
"We're losing a child every week," said Jeanette Fennel of Kids 'N Cars.
Fennel, a mother from Kansas, travels the country warning parents about the dangers of blind spots, and trying to focus attention on a tragedy she said all too often is dismissed as a freak accident.
"I can tell you about hundreds if not thousands of freak
accidents, and ... they're predictable, they're preventable," Fennel said.
Kids 'N Cars is pushing Congress to order the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to force auto manufacturers to install safety equipment, like sensors that beep if something is behind the bumper or back-up alarms that beep when a car goes into reverse.
Consumer Reports would like every vehicle to eventually come equipped with what only a few luxury SUVs and minivans now
have: a monitor in the console and a tiny camera so drivers can see
everything behind their bumper when backing up.
"You wouldn't have these accidents if people could see what they're backing in to," said Consumer Reports Engineer Dr. David Pittle.
Pittle said cameras could prevent tragedies like the one a month ago in Burlington's old north end. A driver was backing out of a driveway when his friend's 18-month-old daughter, Cierra Parent, darted behind his car, police said.
"It appears that the child broke away from being with other children, and tragically, the child walked into the path of the vehicle," said Burlington Deputy Police Chief Walt Decker.
Fennel said parents have to teach their kids that the driveway is only for cars and not for kids. She won't even start her car until all her
children are sitting on the front porch.
Brown and her husband follow a similar plan.
"We have a rule, Tom and I. Whenever we leave the house, either
we have to see both kids or they have to be in with a parent," Brown said.
The number of back-up accidents and deaths have gone up dramatically in just the past few years, the majority of them involve an SUV, minivan or pickup truck, officials said.
You can find out how large the blind spot is in your car. Just take an orange cone and keep placing behind your bumper until you can see it in your mirrors.
If nothing else it might be a good reminder to always walk around and check behind your car before you hop in and throw it into reverse.
Resources:
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