Car Safety: Terrifying Statistics Highlight Importance

When we think of driving in our cars, sport utilities, minivans or pick-up trucks, our minds usually start to become cluttered as we habitually and ritually make sure our mirrors are correctly angled and we have buckled ourselves and children in.

The vehicles we drive are equipped with many safety features, such as rear-view mirrors and anti-lock brakes, which are there to keep us safe inside the car. But what about protection on the outside of the vehicle? It may be something that you don't really think about too often during a normal day, unless a tragic accident happens in your community to make you stop and think of that kind of safety.

Anyone who drives a car, van, or truck drives defensively and they even try to "predict" what could happen by looking around several times before backing out of a space or moving into traffic, due to blind spots, but sometimes accidents can happen because of what's not seen. And unfortunately, not all vehicles are created equal when it comes to blind spots.

A family- type vehicle like an SUV, minivan, or pickup truck can have a blind spot as large as 69 feet behind them, according to a published article in 2007 by Star Bulletin. It goes on to further state that about 50 children nationally are struck by such vehicles in the reverse gear each week. A report publicized by a Utah university in 2006 states that a child is 53% more likely to be struck by a truck rather than a car. N. Clay Mann, PhD., and director of research for the Intermountain Injury Control Research Center explains that these findings are some of the firsts for such accidents related to a non- crash in Utah during 1998- 2003.

The popularity of these family-type vehicles has been on the rise and is causing an epidemic of non-crash related injuries and deaths of young children under the age of 13. On February 14, 2008, The Cameron Gulbransen Kids and Car Safety Act was passed by the Senate to direct the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue new safety standards for all vehicle types. New standards will include the latest safety technologies (like cameras) to become standard equipment. The DOT will also be developing a program to provide the public with information regarding non-traffic dangers to young children. Until this Act is made regulatory for car companies, education is the key to promote awareness. A site that does just that is http://www.ok.gov./health/documents/NonTrafficMVInjuries.PDF, prepared by Sylvera Demas. Her suggestions are great, and hopefully, there will be more information in the coming years to prevent such horrible accidents that not only affect the injured, but the community as well. Communities like UT, OK, and even the state of CT, where two non-crash related incidents happened just this week. Grief shouldn't have to be a part of a child's vocabulary, especially when it's your own daughter who is deeply saddened from an accident involving a school playmate.

Source:

http://www.ok.gov/health/documents/NonTrafficMVInjuries.PDF