We have all seen the commercial where the backup camera stops a car pulling out of a driveway in time to avoid hitting the child pushing his big wheel. Did you know thousands of children are hurt or killed every year because a driver backing up didn’t see them?  At least fifty children are being backed over by vehicles every week in the U.S.  Tragically, back-over incidents take place in residential driveways or parking lots. In over 70% of these incidents, a parent or close relative is behind the wheel. Research groups have concluded that the best way to improve visibility is by installing camera systems which are much better at revealing objects that a driver could not see through the windows and mirrors and could probably prevent thousands of injuries and fatalities.

U.S. auto-safety regulators proposed a new car safety rule mandating that vehicles built after September 2014 includes a rear-view camera system to prevent drivers from backing over pedestrians.  Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement, “There is no more tragic accident than for a parent or caregiver to back out of a garage or driveway and kill or injure an undetected child playing behind the vehicle.  The changes we are proposing today will help drivers see into those blind zones directly behind vehicles to make sure it is safe to back up.”  But this decision was postponed pending further study.  NHTSA representatives have reported that the final ruling will be issued by December 2012.

Even though the proposed rule has not yet passed, Honda has considered rearview cameras as a valuable lifesavers.  All of Honda’s trucks and crossovers are now equipped standard with rearview cameras along with 94% of their car models.  Vicki Poponi, an assistant vice president states,” At Honda, we feel this visibility feature will be important to many families and we are widely applying it even before we are required to do so.”

As a Kentucky personal injury attorney, I am hopeful that we could have these kinds of enhancements that will save lives, improve safety and keep people, especially children, safe in and around automobiles. I used one for the first time a couple weeks ago while in Utah. These cameras will save lives and prevent tragic fatal car accidents and child accidents.

Kentucky schools are back in session. Your kids are back at school, but they are still outside playing. Children love the playground whether it is at school or the park. Unfortunately your child can be seriously injured while playing on a playground. Don’t forget playground safety just because school is back in session.

What can you do as a parent to prevent injuries to your children?  Nobody wants to have an accident claim especially when your kids are involved whether it is a skinned knee or a broken arm. There are some precautionary measures you can take when you go to a playground to ensure that it is safe for your child to play on.  

        1)  Look at the base where the playground and the swing equipment are attached to and see if it is soft.  Make sure that it is firm and that everything is attached in a good manner. 

       2) Check for any loose bolts. 

        3) Check for bare bolts or joints that may cause an injury to your child. 

        4) On a playground made of wood, check to make sure that there’s no exposed splinters. Make sure that the wood is new and is not going to cause an injury to your child. 

        5) Look at the area around the playground. This can actually be more dangerous and cause more serious injuries than the playground itself. 

        6) Make sure that there’s no a broken glass or bottles that can injure your child.

        7) Look for any discarded construction type material.

        8) When a playground is close to a roadway , a ball field or a golf course make sure that there’s not going to be any loose or errant balls, etc. coming toward the playground. 

        9) EDUCATE your children! Explain the dangers that are out there. 

The bottom line is we want our children to have fun but be safe wherever they are. A trip to the emergency room is not part of that.  Take these steps so that you don’t have an accident claim against the playground that your child is playing at.  Child accidents are no fun. Prevention is the key.