View Full Version : Warning- Please Read



Karried
12-27-2005, 03:00 PM
I watched a show on TV last night and was appalled when I opened the news today - it was about SUV's and blind spots.

Please, please always check to see where the kids are. The blind spot doesn't allow you to see a small child - can you even imagine the heartache??

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- Wisconsin police say a woman backing out of a driveway ran over and killed her daughter on Christmas Eve.
Officials say the woman was going on a trip to get holiday candy. Officials say the 24-year-old woman had her other daughter and two sons in the car. She didn't know her six-year-old daughter was outside.



A police detective in Sheboygan says the death is "very, very traumatic" for the family. No charges are expected.

Jack
12-27-2005, 03:05 PM
Ouch!

dirtrider73068
12-27-2005, 03:18 PM
That would hurt, but how do you not know your child is outside. I know where my kids are 24/7. I always keep and ear open, if it gets silent I look, if it gets loud I look. I have learned to grow eyes in the back of my head. I wish that family well, and know that being the one that casued your own childs death has to be the most painful hurt one could endure. I know I could not handle it, they would have to medicate me and lock me in a padded room. I heart goes out the them.

Karried
12-27-2005, 04:43 PM
I know, it is so horrible.. I can't believe I was just watching the special on TV last night and then saw this today - the statistics are mind boggling.. back over accidents they are called. Maybe this message will make just one person take an extra minute to make sure it is all clear.

I got a new vehicle for Christmas and thank God it has a back up alarm. I believe all SUVs should have the alarm or a camera installed - mandatory.

They showed an SUV and showed the blindspots... from a driver's perspective.. it all looked clear. Then they panned behind the SUV - about 10 little kids were standing behind it!! You couldn't see one of them!

My neighbor told a story of her little boy running out to talk to Daddy as he was leaving - the little boy somehow climbed on the running board or bumper and Daddy took off. Thankfully, mom came running out as he was pulling out and saw him and Dad heard her screaming as he drove away with the toddler holding on for dear life but these are parents who are so conscious of their kid's whereabouts and it happened to them.

Another neighbor of mine in CA put her kids in the car and went in to get a forgotten sippee cup for the little one... he climbed out of the carseat and into the front seat and kicked the car out of gear. The daughter ( age 9) was on rollerblades in front of the house and tried to grab the door - she was pulled under the car as it rolled down the driveway and down the street. It was a cul de sac - new homes being built and the construction workers stopped the car but the daughter was run over and her leg was broken. Thank God she had on a helmet and pads but it could have been such a terrible tragedy.

And even though I pride myself on knowing where they are, my kids (all kids) are fast and oblivious to danger so you have to SEE them as you leave - don't assume they are on the side of the yard or inside unless you are 100% sure.

The major reason kids run behind the car as a parent is leaving? To say goodbye.

Curt
12-27-2005, 06:46 PM
This happend to a freind of mine a few years back. His young son was behind his van when he was backing out of the driveway and the vehicle ran the boy over killing him. I think he was two years old at the time. It really took it's toll on the family of course.

Jack
12-27-2005, 07:30 PM
Parents need to keep better track of their children. Nuff said.

Keith
12-27-2005, 08:21 PM
Parents need to keep better track of their children. Nuff said.
You got that right, Jack. It reminds me of when I am driving down a street in a residential area, and there are kids everywhere, playing in the street, and playing around their parents' automobiles.

When I see a kid playing in the street with no parent around, it makes me believe that the parents really don't care where their kids are.

Anytime a parent gets in their vehicle, they need to make sure they know where their children are before they even start the engine.

Karried
12-28-2005, 09:49 AM
Parents need to keep better track of their children. Nuff said.


Even thought that may be true, the thing about kids is that they are kids - spontaneous, fast, and unpredictable and for anyone who has kids, you know you can't keep an eye on them 24/7 no matter how hard you try. The one thing too, is that often, one parent will think the other one has the child and vice versa - mistakes are made and accidents happen.
The real issue is kids are too small to be seen when they are behind an SUV's blind spot and the auto companies or SUV owners should do something to prevent these accidents.


It's like having anything potentially enticing and/or dangerous to a child. When I first had my inground pool installed in CA my little one was 8 months old and I had nightmare after nightmare about him drowning. (I had a friend lose her daughter to drowning) So, I had a self closing gate and fence installed before the pool was even finished and he was never allowed in the pool area without water wings and a life jacket for years even when we were all 'watching' him. (He learned to swim while still under a year old but still I didn't take a chance.) The point I'm trying to get across is to take protective measures to prevent tragedies (like back up alarms or cameras) because we can't always watch them - ask the Grandma in my neighborhood who just lost her 2 year old grandson last week after he fell into the pool and drowned - she would give anything now to have had a fence installed, don't you think - just like the mom above who would give anything to have had a backup alarm installed - what are they - $20 bucks?

Children are just too fast and accidents happen no matter how diligent of a parent you are. Assume that you can't know where they are constantly no matter how you try and take action to prepare for the unexpected. Multiple layers of protection and prevention are key to saving lives.

Curt
12-28-2005, 09:52 AM
Anytime a parent gets in their vehicle, they need to make sure they know where their children are before they even start the engine.
I agree, I dont even have kids but when ever I back out of my driveway I make real sure there are none around.

MadMonk
12-28-2005, 10:04 AM
Damn, I don't know how I could live with myself if that happened to me. :( That's got to be the worst feeling in the world. Thanks for the reminder Karried.