OcalaMom.com

I came across this information recently and wanted to share it with you, especially now that summer is here.

- Fifteen children have been killed in a driveway or parking lot during the past two weeks, according to the national child safety advocacy group Kids & Cars.

- In the US, fifty children are backed over by vehicles every week.

- Forty-eight are treated in hospital emergency rooms, and
at least two children are fatally injured every week.

- The accidents most often happen in the driveway of the child's home, and in over 70 percent of the incidents, the driver of the vehicle is the child's parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or older sibling.

Here are some safety tips to keep children safe around vehicles:

- Walk around and behind a vehicle prior to moving it.
- Know where your kids are.
- Teach children that “parked” vehicles might move.
- Consider installing cross view mirrors, audible collision detectors, rear view video camera and/or some type of back up detection device.
- Measure the size of your blind zone (area) behind the vehicle(s) you drive. A 5-foot-1-inch driver in a pickup truck can have a rear blind zone of approximately 8 feet wide by 50 feet long.
- Be aware that steep inclines and large SUV’s, vans and trucks add to the difficulty of seeing behind a vehicle.
- Hold children’s hand firmly when leaving the vehicle.
- Teach your 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.
- Homeowners should trim landscaping around the driveway to ensure they can see the sidewalk, street and pedestrians clearly when backing out of their driveway. Pedestrians also need to be able to see a vehicle pulling out of the driveway.
- Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute.
- Keep vehicles locked at all times; even in the garage or driveway and always set your parking brake.
- Keys and/or remote openers should never be left within reach of children.
- Make sure all child passengers have left the car after it is parked.
- Be especially careful about keeping children safe in and around cars during busy times, schedule changes and periods of crisis or holidays.

For more information, visit www.KidsAndCars.org