As of the first week of May, over 16 children have been killed in ‘frontover’ accidents. A frontover accident occurs when a driver cannot see a child in front of their vehicle due to a blind spot. Without being able to see the child, the driver accidentally pulls forward, thus hitting and killing the child. It is a situation that can happen with any car, but happens more frequently with larger pickup trucks and SUVs.
While this certainly is not a new phenomenon, the rise in occurrences does not appear to be a coincidence. A study conducted by safety organization Kids and Cars shows that child deaths resulting from frontover accidents has greatly increased. Kids and Cars studied two periods: 1996 to 2000 and 2006 to 2010. The results were 24 fatalities and 358 fatalities respectively.
Tragically, over 80 percent of frontover accidents involve a parent behind the wheel. Janette Fennell, the founder of Kids and Cars warns, “It’s something that happens in an instant. Everyone thinks that when we look out the windshield, we can see everything, but nothing can be further from the truth.”
Losing a child due to the negligence of another person can be absolutely devastating. Despite blind spots, drivers, especially those in larger vehicles with more limited vantage points, should take care to be more attentive. There are many additional precautions one can take beyond simply looking out the windshield. If children are in the area, all drivers should be on high alert and make sure children are clear of the vehicle before driving. With distracted driving on the rise, an accident could happen like this at any moment.
If you or a loved one has lost a child in a ‘frontover’ accident, or if you’ve lost a child in a car accident or truck accident due to someone else’s recklessness, contact a lawyer who could help hold those negligent parties accountable. Contact Baldwin Matzus, LLC today to schedule a case consultation.
