Focus: Drivers, mostly parents, run their cars over their children

Today I came across this article about how common drivers run over children in places like driveways of their own homes, and surprisingly the driver-at-fault is usually their kid's father or mother.

Former Wallaby Brendan Cannon (inset) accidentally backed over his son Samuel in the driveway of his family home. (Image Credit: Brisbane Times)

According to the article, there are about 160 kids being ran over by cars in Queensland, which is quite a number. And besides that, as the vehicle getting larger in size, the fatality for the children also increases.

Some children as young as 2, since they are not tall enough, as parents backing off their vehicles at home they couldn't see anything behind, and there the vehicle went and ran over the child. It's very sad to see people's own children being bumped over. Brendan was very fortunate to see his son being recovered so well. "I really feel for the people who don't get that opportunity to have that second chance with a child." He said.

There are a lot of precautions can be made to avoid a tragedy to happen in families. In the article, the Dad was driving an 4WD, which is quite big and tall. But nevertheless it's not the vehicle's problem, but the constant alertness of a driver. Devices that can detect surrounding objects like infrared sensor can help drivers notice when something is on their way when backing up their vehicles. And also get out of the vehicle and walk all the way around to see if there's anything on the way before backing up. But most importantly, I think they have to make sure where their children exactly are, for example whether they're sitting in the car or wandering around the garage, before really start the engine. In that way, you'll be able to prevent such avoidable accidents.

So always be safe when you drive, and "Supervise, Separate and See" your children.

Source [Brisbane Times]

D.