Advertisement The e-mail said the month of May had been particularly tragic for children being hit by vehicles (backovers and frontovers). At least 12 children had lost their lives all around the country. There also have been many more incidents where children have been critically injured.
Here are the headlines:
May 28: Child hit, killed by car — St. Petersburg, Fla.
May 25: Toddler accidentally run over, killed in church parking lot — Whitewater, Wis.
May 24: Woman accused of hit-and-run death — Lower Onondaga Park, N.Y.
May 22: 17-month-old girl dead after father backs over her with Jeep — Rainer, Wash.
May 22: 2-year-old girl hit by car, killed by family friend — Greenwood, S.C.
May 21: Toddler hit by pickup, killed — Waynesville, Fla.
May 21: Toddler dead after being hit by car in driveway — Swisher, Iowa
May 21: Steven Curtis Chapman’s daughter killed by SUV in driveway — Franklin, Tenn.
May 20: Mom kills tot in driveway tragedy — Garland, Texas
May 19: 7-year-old is run over by a pickup — East Dubuque, Ill.
May 15: 2-year-old dies after being struck by vehicle — Longview, Texas
May 15: Toddler killed by SUV — Roosevelt, Utah
What is strange is I almost witnessed two backover incidents on the same day earlier this month.
In one parking lot, I directed two children to quit running as vehicles backed up. In another parking lot, two young children were running around cars in the parking lot while their mother was in the store. When I saw a car back up, I grabbed a 3-year-old as the car narrowly missed her.
I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I was angry and upset. Parents need to supervise their children at all times when they park in a lot.
But I don’t think we can count on parents to always be responsible. So as drivers we have to assume a child is behind or in front of our vehicle.
Kids and Cars offer some useful safety tips:
Walk around and behind a vehicle prior to moving it.
Know where your kids are. Make children move away from your vehicle to a place where they are in full view before moving the car and know that another adult is properly supervising children before moving your vehicle.
Teach children that “parked” vehicles might move. Let them know they can see the vehicle, but the driver might not be able to see them.
Be aware that steep inclines and large SUVs, vans and trucks add to the difficulty of seeing behind a vehicle.
Teach children to never play in, around or behind a vehicle, and always set the emergency brake.
Keep toys and other sports equipment off the driveway.
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at (608) 791-8227.
