Safety Tips
Some simple tips, provided www.KidsAndCars.org, can help families keep their children safe around vehicles:
• 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.
• 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.
That's the message Monroe Area Safe Kids wants anyone who drives a motor vehicle, and especially parents of young children, to remember: Don't even think about backing up your car without walking around the back of the car to make sure there's no children in harm's way.
Beth Kindschi, coordinator for Monroe Area Safe Kids, said walking around the back of a vehicle needs to be a habit, just like wearing a seat belt.
"Most of us were not taught to do this when we learned to drive - but with the design of many new vehicles, the back-up blind zone is 20 feet or longer," she said. "There's no substitute for walking around the vehicle to look for kids, toys, pets, tools and whatever might be there."
The tragedy of "baby backovers" has been in the news recently. In the past few weeks, a toddler was accidently run over and killed in a church parking lot in Whitewater, and a Beloit man accidentally backed over and killed a child.
The issue also captured national attention when the 5-year-old daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman, a popular Christian singer with five Grammys to his name, was accidentally killed in the family's driveway. Her older brother was backing up on the driveway and couldn't see the child in the large blind spot behind the SUV.
Safe Kids has a sticker that can be used as a visual reminder to check for children before backing up a vehicle. The stickers say "Spot the Tot" and can be affixed to the driver's side window so the driver sees the reminder before even opening the door. The stickers are free and available at the Green County Health Department between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
Parents and grandparents also should have a "safe spot," she said. The family should designate one area off to the side of the driveway where children should stand when anyone is backing out. This safe spot could be a front porch or sidewalk - any place that is away from the vehicle and allows the driver to see the children.
This year, Safe Kids has expanded the Spot the Tot program to include Kids In and Around Cars. Kindschi said the program seeks to educate the public about the dangers of leaving kids alone in vehicles, including trunk entrapment and heat-related deaths and injuries.
It also reminds people to know what kind of safety equipment is appropriate for their child - a child seat, booster seat or seat belt. Kindschi reminded drivers that state law requires children under 8, less than 4 feet, 9 inches tall or 80 pounds to sit in child safety seat.
Kindschi also said the Safe Kids group is available to do presentations or supply materials for community groups. More information is available by calling 328-9508.