Children Get Backed Over Far too Often

I’ve written a number of times about the great education work that Kids and Cars continues to do. Recently, they have been spending a lot of time looking at the number of kids who are backed over:

at least two children die and nearly 50 others are injured every week in "back over" accidents across the U.S.

In Minnesota, there have been at least 20 people who have died in these types of accidents since 2001. In Wisconsin, the number is 12.

The numbers are staggering. Looking at these types of deaths, clearly they involve distraction and people not truly understanding the frequency of the dangers. There are some easy ways to prevent these deaths:

Injuryboard member, John Inserra, gave us a great list:

• Visually observe the area around your vehicle before moving it
• Always know where your kids are and make them stand in a place in full view of the car, with adult supervision, before moving the vehicle.
• Teach your children basic vehicle safety: that parked vehicles might move and that the driver may not be able to see them and that it is never safe to play in or around a vehicle.
• Keep your children’s toys out of the driveway
• Install safety equipment such as a rearview video camera, cross view mirrors, or audible collision detectors in your vehicle
• Know the size of your vehicle’s blind spots.
• Keep cars locked and secured at all times and keep the keys and remote starters out of the reach of children

The key is being alert, understanding the danger, and most of all only driving when you are behind the wheel.