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Driveway Safety
Know the Facts to Prevent Backovers and Other Accidents
By Kelly Burgess
"We've all been told to put our children in a car seat in the back seat and they'll be safe," Fennell says. "No one has put an emphasis on cars that are not moving or that are getting ready to move. The thing that really puts this over the Richter scale of tragedy is that it's extremely rare for anyone to back over a child they don't know. Over 70 percent of the time it's a direct relative. Add in friends to that and it's up to 90 percent. The people who love them the most are now responsible for their death. This destroys individuals, families and communities."
Backovers are a particular problem, in part because of the increased popularity of larger vehicles, such as SUVs and minivans. Many of these have extremely large blind spots, so large that Fennell calls them "blind zones."
"When you talk of blind spots, you're talking about a fairly small area of the car where you can't see another car when you change lanes," Fennell says. "With some larger cars, the blind zone when you're backing up can range from eight feet up to 69 feet, depending upon the make of the car. It's inconceivable that we can allow this lack of visibility when we're talking about something that can kill a small child so easily."
Fennell's goal is federal regulations for rear visibility standards, as well as required safety equipment on cars such as back-up cameras and sensors to detect obstacles. Car manufacturers are largely fighting the idea because of the increased costs, but, asks Fennell, what cost can you put on a child's life?
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