Vehicle incidents are the #1 killer of children in the United States
Preventing children from being run over by vehicles backing up
Every year, thousands of children are killed or seriously injured because a driver backing up didn't see them. A backover incident typically takes place when a car is backing out of a driveway or parking space.
Every vehicle has blind zones – areas around the vehicle where the driver cannot see, even with mirrors. These blind zones can be large enough to hide a small child.
The larger the vehicle, the larger the blind zone. SUVs and pickup trucks have significantly larger blind zones than sedans.
Thanks to years of advocacy by Kids and Car Safety and other organizations, as of May 2018, all new vehicles are required to have a backup camera as standard equipment. This federal mandate has led to a significant reduction in backover incidents.
Studies show that backup cameras are associated with a nearly 50% reduction in severe injuries from backover incidents. As more vehicles with backup cameras enter the roadways, the number of these tragedies continues to decrease.
Always check your backup camera, but also physically look behind you.
Walk around your vehicle before backing up to check for children or pets.
Make sure children are supervised and away from the vehicle before backing up.
Consider vehicles with rear cross-traffic alert and automatic braking.
Create separate play areas away from driveways with physical barriers.
When possible, back into parking spaces so you can pull forward when leaving.
Modern vehicles offer several technologies to help prevent backovers:
If your vehicle doesn't have a backup camera, you can:
The backup camera mandate came about largely due to the tragic death of Cameron Gulbransen, a 2-year-old who was backed over by his father in their driveway in 2002. His father, Dr. Greg Gulbransen, became a vocal advocate for backup cameras and worked with Kids and Car Safety to push for federal legislation.
The Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act was signed into law in 2008, requiring the Department of Transportation to issue a standard for backup cameras. After years of delays, the final rule was issued in 2014, with full implementation required by May 2018.
Support our efforts to make vehicles safer for children and prevent backover tragedies.
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