Preventing ‘frontovers’: Child safety for vehicles

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Every year, thousands of children are hurt or killed due to blind spots in vehicles.

According to Kids and Car Safety , children are often hurt or killed because a driver moving forward very slowly didn’t see them. These incidents mostly take place in driveways or parking lots and are referred to as “frontovers.”

These accidents can be prevented with a few important safety tips:

• Children should always be actively supervised any time a vehicle is being moved at the home, and in or near parking lots.
• Carry toddlers, use strollers or shopping carts in parking lots or near vehicles.
• Install childproof doorknob covers on all outside doors of the home and pair them with stick-on door alarms so you know if a child is attempting to sneak out of the house.

Children under the age of five are more at risk for frontovers and backovers as they cannot be seen by the driver. According to Kids and Car Safety, toddlers do not have the cognitive ability to understand danger and are quick to sneak out of the home or dart away from caregivers.

As shown in the picture above, every vehicle has a blind spot in front, on the sides, and behind. The bigger the vehicle, the bigger the blind zone, some trucks have a front blind zone up to 11 feet larger than any typical sedan.

In these blind zones, small children cannot be seen by the driver; even when using the mirrors correctly.

Technology like “360” or “birdseye view” camera systems as well as pedestrian automatic emergency braking (PAEB) in all new vehicles may prevent frontover accidents.

For more information and frontover statistics, click the link above.

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