Backup Safety

There was another report of a family member backing up in the driveway, running over, and killing their own child. When a parent loses a child the pain must be unfathomable. To be the cause through an accident is beyond imagination.

The child safety advocacy KidsandCars.org reports that over fifty children are backed over every week in the U.S., resulting in an average 232 fatalities. In 70% of the incidents a parent or close relative is the driver.

When learning to drive we were taught a safety checklist before turning the key. Over the years we become hurried, preoccupied, complacent. We drive the same cars every day. The seat and mirrors are always in the same place. Just start and go. Years of driving experience and familiarity with our surroundings blind us to what is right in front of us. Or behind. The safety checks become forgotten- second nature. Just like you can obscure a motorcycle with your thumb, KidsandCars.org has an interesting example of thirty children standing and sitting behind a SUV-All out of the view of the driver.

Children playing behind vehicles have no idea of the dangers. Bigger SUV’s and trucks that have high clearances can create a welcoming, shady, private area for a child to play. Electric and hybrid vehicles exacerbate the hazards, as they create little to no sound.

Children being left in cars are yet another issue that is increasingly in the news. Sometimes it is forgetfulness. Some are purposeful in the sense, “It’s only for a minute”. If casinos are nearby the chances go up. Maryland covers approximately 12,400 square miles with a population of about six million, with six casinos spread throughout the State. According to a March 2017 Baltimore Sun article, Gamblers leave their kids in cars almost everywhere there are casinos, Kidsandcars.org have chronicled more than 300 cases of child abandonment at casinos nationwide since 2000. There have been fourteen incidents of children abandoned outside casinos in Maryland over the last two years.

As responsible adults we need to stop and review our driving habits and preparations. It takes less than a second to check behind your vehicle before getting in. Checking the surrounding area and the interior before getting in the car should be part of a personal security/safety check anyway.

Simple changes to our routines, education and awareness, go a long way. They may literally save a young life.