728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Home Safety Issues › Driveway Safety

Driveway Safety

Know the Facts to Prevent Backovers and Other Accidents

By Kelly Burgess

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

On May 21, 2008, singer Steven Curtis Chapman's 5-year-old daughter, Maria, was run over and killed in the driveway of their home by her teenage brother. He was backing their SUV out of the driveway and didn't see the little girl.

It's a double tragedy that's all too common. The bigger tragedy is that with a combination of communication and technology, many of these types of accidents can be prevented.

The Statistics

According to Janette Fennell, president and co-founder of Kids and Cars (www.kidsandcars.org), 50 children each week are injured in accidents in which they are backed over by cars, usually in their own driveways. Of that number, two die. These incidents usually merit a blurb in the local paper, but escape larger notice because the government does not collect data on these types of accidents since they do not occur on public roadways.

In addition to backovers, Fennell's organization is trying to raise awareness of the dangers of other non-traffic, motor-vehicle-related accidents, such as the following:

  • Power window accidents
  • Car theft with a child in the vehicle
  • Vehicles accidentally set in motion by a child in the car
  • Children who die of heat stroke or hypothermia when left in cars
  • Children hit by vehicles moving forward in a driveway

    Fennell became an advocate for awareness and federal safety regulations after she, her husband and her infant son were the victims of carjackers in 1995. All three miraculously escaped, and an activist was born. After successfully pushing through a law requiring all vehicles manufactured after 2002 to have a glow-in-the-dark trunk release, Fennell turned her sights to other types of preventable, non-traffic, vehicle-related accidents and incidents.


    Pages:  1  2  3  4  

    Want to see more?

    • Comments

    There are no comments for this article yet.Be the first to add a comment.

    Post As:
    Enter your comment below:
    Title
    Comment Text
    CAPTCHA
    Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.