We hear a lot in the news about the controversies and dangers of Sport Utility Vehicles or SUVs, especially how much gas they use and their risk of rollovers.
For many parents with large families or who drive a lot of kids around, SUVs are a necessity. And many parents think that their kids are safer, in case they are in an accident, if they are in a large SUV.
However, SUVs may pose a very real and deadly hazard to children, as do minivans and large pickup trucks. And that is because they have poor rear visibility and a large blind spot, the space behind your car or SUV that you can't normally see in your rear-view mirror, which can make it easier to back over a child.
According to Kids 'N Cars, which is compiling statistics on these types of incidents, 'in 2002, at least 58 children died as a result of being backed over by a motor vehicle. (more than one per week) Sadly, in over 60% of these incidents, there was a parent or close relative behind the wheel.'
That doesn't mean that you can't drive an SUV, but you should be more careful when backing up, especially if there might be kids around.
Also, keep in mind that even regular cars have blind spots, so always be careful when backing up, even if you aren't in an SUV. The current statistics on injuries and deaths from backing over a child don't seem to break them down by type of vehicle. You would think that more injuries occur as a vehicle just begins to back up and not after it has already gone 20 or 30 feet, so backing up your smaller car might pose just as big a risk.
Still, in addition to having a longer and wider blind spot, a large SUV is also going to have a taller blind spot (maybe 4 feet or so) than a smaller car (often only 2-3 feet), so more kids would be at risk of not being seen and being run over in an SUV.
And one study, from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, did show that the majority of drive-way related collisions 'resulted from a truck or sport-utility vehicle going in reverse'.
But this article isn't about SUV bashing. It is about preventing injuries to children from getting backed over.
Backing Up Safely
Here are some tips to help you back up your vehicle safely, whether it is an SUV, pickup truck or smaller car:
- Consider installing a backup sensor and alarm, which are now standard on some SUVs, including the '03 Lincoln Navigator.
- Installing a rear-view camera is another good option to help you monitor your blind-spot. A rear-view camera is standard on the Acura MDX SUV and is available as an add-on for many other SUVs. Because backup sensors are designed more to detect backing into a stationary object and don't do as well with small children and moving objects, a camera might be a better option.
- Adjust your rear and side view mirrors to minimize your vehicle's blind spot.
- Adjust your seat, pedals and steering column so that you are sitting as high as safe and comfortable. Shorter drivers have larger blind spots, so raising your self up might help decrease the size of your vehicle's blind spot.
- Make sure you know where your children are when you are backing up. Many incidents involve a child running out of the house after a parent that is leaving or to meet a parent that is just getting home. If your home is childproofed, your younger children shouldn't be able to get out of the house on their own. Make sure that they can't.
- Check behind your SUV before backing up. Simply checking your mirrors isn't enough.
- Consider rolling your windows down when you are backing up so that you could hear if a child was behind you.
- Back up slowly.
How Big is Your Blind Spot
There is an easy test you can use to see how big the blind spot is for your car, truck or SUV. Take an object that is 2-3 feet tall and place it behind your car. Now check your mirrors and see if you can see it. Continue to place it further and further away until you can see it and that distance is how big your blind spot is.
If a 2-3 foot tall child (about the size of an average 2-3 year old) runs into that blindspot when you are backing up, then you could very easily run over that child.
According to a Kids 'N Cars and Consumer Reports article, the size of a blind spot can range from just 12 feet for a Honda Accord to 30 feet for a Chevrolet Avalanche. Short drivers have an even longer blindspot, up to 50 feet for the Avalanche.
This test can also help you to adjust your vehicle's mirrors to minimize the size of the its blind spot.
