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May 22, 2007

Whenever I See The Term "Safety Activist"...

Then I know the hyperbole is about to fly fast and furiously

Blind spots are a deadly flaw for most SUVs 'There’s actually an epidemic going on right now,' safety activist warns

By Herb Weisbaum
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 6:43 p.m. ET May 21, 2007

How many kids can sit behind an SUV without being seen by the driver in the rearview mirrors? This is not a trick question. In fact, knowing the answer could save a child’s life.

According to the consumer group Kids and Cars, as many as 62 children could be in that blind zone and you’d never know it. And that’s a huge problem.

Well, you'd never know it if you never looked behind your car, but why quibble.

Your driveway is the last place you’d expect a child to get hit by a car. But Janette Fennell, president of Kids and Cars, says at least 100 children are killed there each year in backover accidents. Another 2,400 children are seriously injured this way each year.

Actually, my driveway is the first place, because when she was young that's where my daughter and her friends spent most of their time, drawing with chalk.

“The problem has gotten worse with the increased popularity of SUVs, pickup trucks and minivans as family vehicles,” says Mike Quincy, an automotive expert with Consumer Reports. “Some of the blind spots are incredible.”

Perhaps. But I would also say that the problem, if it has indeed gotten worse, has done so because people are rushing out of houses, jabbering on their cell phones, and because frankly a lot of people seem to be spending less time watching their kids.

Is federal action needed to cut the tragic toll?

This may surprise you, but there is no federal standard for rear visibility. Last week, the “Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007” (S.694) passed the Senate Commerce Committee and is now headed to the full Senate for a vote.

The bill, which covers a number of automotive safety issues, would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to create rules that would expand the required field of vision behind a vehicle.

The bill does not say how this would be accomplished; that would be worked out in the rulemaking process.

Hooray! Let's increase the size of the Government!

Look, it is a terrible tragedy when someone runs over their own child in their driveway, but do we really need a whole heap of Federal Legislation and Regulation? How about an ad campaign to remind folks to peek behind their car before they hop in it and zoom off?

Posted by Mr. Bingley at May 22, 2007 08:52 AM

Comments

I suggest a bill that requires the U.S. Department of Transportation to create rules that would build a magical force field around children to protect them from SUVs and the occasional meteor.

The bill will not say how this would be accomplished; that would be worked out in the rulemaking process.

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at May 22, 2007 09:23 AM

Jeez, death by nannystatism. What a way to go......maybe we need a law?

Posted by: The_Real_JeffS at May 22, 2007 09:46 AM

You know, when I was a kid, we used to LOVE playing "hide behind the Jeep Cherokee"! But 62 kids, wow. We never got more than 55 in that blind spot. Of course, SUVs are bigger now.

Posted by: Nightfly at May 22, 2007 11:52 AM

Well, since there aren't anymore phone booths for all those wacky college kids to pile into anymore maybe we could see how many can hide behind an SUV...

Posted by: Mr. Bingley at May 22, 2007 01:02 PM

What, swallowing goldfish isn't good enough for them anymore?

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at May 22, 2007 01:51 PM

Hmmm.

62 kids behind an SUV? What, are they all jammed into a tin? That's ridiculous! I've got a 6 year old niece, and I would swear on a stack of pancakes that she takes up about 850 square feet just for the junk she carries around in her backpack.

Really.

What are these kids carrying around in those backpacks anyways? And are they preparing to climb Mount Everest with what they've got in there?

Posted by: memomachine at May 22, 2007 04:28 PM

magical force field around children is the completely wrong approach to this problem. You're not going to solve any problems by isolating children.

Everyone knows these accidents ARE THE CAR'S FAULT! We already have the technology to punish these SUVs by building them without a reverse gear.

Posted by: Prussian Tiger at May 22, 2007 11:26 PM

I dunno....when I was a kid, my dad hollering "Hey, you kids! Get out of the driveway, I need to go to work!" seemed to work pretty well. (Of course, we also had a gravel driveway, which wasn't exactly fun to play in, so we didn't spend much time there.)

I suppose those magical force fields will be for children only? Because we all know that once a human being hits 18, the only thing the Feds figure they're good for is paying taxes...

Posted by: ricki at May 28, 2007 01:22 PM