With kids out of school and families practicing social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, more kids than usual are playing outside their homes, often at unexpected times of day.
Many are drawing with chalk on sidewalks and driveways. That's why it`s more important than ever to use Spot the Tot safety techniques to help prevent accidental back-overs or front-overs.
Between 1991 and 2018, 1,427 children nationwide died from injuries sustained in a backover, meaning the child was accidentally rolled over by a moving vehicle. In Utah, 62 children have died in backovers since 1991. That's the fifth highest number of such fatalities in the nation.
Most often, fatalities occur when a child is accidentally run over by a vehicle in a driveway or parking lot, most often driven by a parent or caregiver.
These accidents can be prevented, starting with a 10-second walk around your vehicle.
While backup cameras can help with visibility, they also have significant blind spots at each corner. The best prevention is human intervention.
You can Spot the Tot and Prevent injury by doing these three things:
- Walk completely around the car before getting in to drive
- Eliminate distractions (put phone away, turn off music)
- Roll down windows and listen before backing up
Here are some other tips to help keep kids safe:
- Supervise children when others are getting into a car
- Teach children not to play in or around cars
For more information, visit primarychildrens.org/safety.
