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Aug 14, 2008 6:17 pm US/Central
Safety Experts: "Spot The Tot" Before Backing Up
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News) ―
An Arlington toddler, who was run over by a SUV Wednesday, has died. The mother says she simply didn't see the little boy behind the vehicle when she was backing out of the driveway.
The accident may seem unthinkable, but local law enforcement and hospital personnel say the mistake is easy to make and every driver should take some simple steps to prevent it.
To help combat the problem Cook Children's Medical Center even puts on a demonstration to show parents how much they don't see through their rear view mirror.
With the 'Spot the Tot Program' experts place a 20-foot long strip behind a car and line it with two-foot high cones -- roughly the same height as a toddler.
"I'm 5'6" and if you were in a hurry, backing out, you'd see me however you might not see this toddler," said Terri Ford with Cook Children's Medical Center, as she held up a traffic cone representing the size of a child. From the driver's seat looking back in the rear view mirror, the cone on the ground wasn't visible, though Ford clearly was.
The mother of Dominique Scott never knew she hit the child. Family members later found the 16-month-old in the driveway.
Police say similar accidents happen surprisingly often, thousands of times each year in the United States. So far in 2008, there have been more than 10 such accidents in Tarrant County alone.
"And again we hate to see even one and have one family go through anything tragic like this," Ford said.
CBS 11's Joel Thomas did a demonstration that had him and a two-year old girl standing 20-feet behind a vehicle. The girl was only slightly taller than the cones. Parents were invited to adjust the rear view mirrors and describe what they saw. While Joel was clearly visible, the little girl, dressed in a ruffled pink shirt and denim skirt, was not.
"Is
it the vehicle that's not properly set up or what's going on?" asked Sidney Torres as he tried to adjust the mirror to better see behind the car.
But it's not the vehicle. Experts say it doesn't matter if you're driving in a pickup truck or a compact car, children are practically impossible to see.
"If I was backing up," Francisco Angil said as he looked into the rear view knowing a little girl was there but not seeing her. "Yeah! I would hit somebody."
The Spot the Tot Program offers some simple suggestions for parents and drivers.
- Before driving, check the street, driveway and area around your vehicle
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Children should be taught not to play in, under or around vehicles
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Supervise children when a driver is leaving the home
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Adjust the driver's seat as high as needed to see clearly out the rear window
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Roll down windows to hear children
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Adjust side and rear mirrors to reduce blind spots
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