ODESSA, Texas — On Sunday, March 17, in Houston, a one-year-old child was run over by an Uber in an accident known as a frontover. Each year, thousands of children are killed crossing the front of a vehicle and TxDOT shared useful tips parents can implement to protect their loved ones.
According to Kids and Car Safety, 60 children are run over by a slow, forward-moving vehicle in parking lots and driveways every week.
Tragedies like these are 100% predictable and preventable when parents know what precautions to take.
The first being a clear line of sight.
“You want to have your children in plain sight in front of you so that you know where they are. And they're not chasing after a ball across the street. They're not in front of the vehicle, if it's about to move, you just never know," said Texas Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Maryann Cedillo. "So you want to have plain view of them.”
Parents shouldn't let their guard down once they've got their kids in the car. Parents should ensure their little ones are buckled up properly.
“When your children are in the vehicle and they're in their safety seat, make sure that they're in their safety seat and that the car isn't moving anymore. [Also make sure] they don't know how to unbuckle themselves because some children will unbuckle themselves and get off the car," Cedillo said. "So, you have to be really careful that the car is in park, it's off and not moving.”
In terms of the driver, you must be conscious of how wide your blind spots can be, and always think twice before you start moving.
“You want to make sure that you look once twice, even three times over your shoulder and behind you to see those blind spots because children in your neighborhood, children on the roadway are may not know the all the rules of the road," Cedillo said.
Vehicles do come equipped with safety features like birds-eye view cameras and automatic breaking. While they are beneficial, they are not a substitute for the best safety feature of all; you.
“You can't really rely on those 100%," Cedillo said. "They're tools to be used as helpful but not 100% effective.”
Any and all safe driver steps can help save a child's life.