Toddlers and driveways

[Chucaro]

I am reading the news and I cannot comprehend why we have to have at least one fatality or serious accident cause by a car running over a toddle in the homes driveways.

Today we just have another one in Qld.

Surely have to be a way to avoid theses tragedies. Perhaps a compulsory reverse camera….I do not know is terrible.

[dmdigital]

Technology is not the answer, education is first and foremost. Even if they had a camera there are people who wouldn't use it.

How many people do you see just get in a car, start it and stick it in reverse! Driver education needs to go a long way.

[weeds]

i had a moment tonight

pulled up iin the defender in the driveway, downhill, ensuring the kids had all there stuff, collecting my own things, listening to the cricket, looked over my shoulder checking the oldest boy can open the rear door for the dog, open my door half way out the door and as my foot comes off the brake pedal the defender rolls forward about a metre...........jammed my foot on the brake, applied handbrake look up to see the youngest boy 1-2m in front of the car walking towards the house totally unaware......sat in the car for a moment thing you idiot, phew, and than i see this thread

[Chucaro]

i had a moment tonight

pulled up iin the defender in the driveway, downhill, ensuring the kids had all there stuff, collecting my own things, listening to the cricket, looked over my shoulder checking the oldest boy can open the rear door for the dog, open my door half way out the door and as my foot comes off the brake pedal the defender rolls forward about a metre...........jammed my foot on the brake, applied handbrake look up to see the youngest boy 1-2m in front of the car walking towards the house totally unaware......sat in the car for a moment thing you idiot, phew, and than i see this thread

I will need a big glass of brandy after something like this

[DiscoTDI]

I had a very heart stopping experience at a day care last year in a ford focus, we were in the car in the carpark waiting for the kids to buckle up in the back which takes a few minutes. Now before I get in the car I always survey the area for kids, families, traffic to get an idea of what I might have to watch for. When we were able to start moving I then check mirrors and look around at my blind spots. The closest movement I could see was a family 30 metres away coming out of the child gate of the day care, I then started to reverse and caught the slightest glimpse in my mirror of what I now know was a tuft of hair. My first instinct was to slam on the brakes which I managed to do in time, I did not hit the child but from what I was told it was a matter of millimetres.

What had happened was the people who were coming out of the gate had let their child run through the carpark, and the first I knew that child was there was from a slight glimpse of the top of their head for a fraction of a second in my mirror. If I had looked in my side mirror at that time I would have probably run over that child, it still haunts me and I am sure it always will because that save was pure arse. I have always looked properly for children especially as I have 3 of my own, as you can imagine I get out of the car a lot more than I used too and even then thye image pops in my mind wondering if a child could have run behind me in the time it took me to turn around and get back in.

Point of my story is it doesnt matter what car you are in kids are pretty much invisible, I am surprised there are not more kids run over with some of the antics I see in schools and day cares. I am getting a reverse camera for the Focus because at the end of the day even if it was not my fault, I would not be able to live with myself if I run over a child.

[4wd4fun]

Its is just a mater of thinking about what you are doing when behind the wheel as you are in charge.
I had a case a while back at local Vidio store a man had an argument with the attendent re overdue fees and then stormed out jumped in car and reversed out without looking or thinking and reversed straight into the front of my Centre parked disco crushed his boot lid rear quarter and tail light smashed and scratched paint on the courner of my ARB Bull bar (hit on strongest point) no other damage. If any one had been walking there he would have hit them as he did not look behind at all so anything could have happened. I was in the store and watched him do it he was even angrier when he drove off.

[Rangier Rover]

Been one of our greatest fears here. Not an ideal solution but we got into the habit of reversing into the garage wile they were still in the car so next time most of the action is out front.

Tony

[dullbird]

aren't reversing cameras law now in the states? I know that fitting camera inside the car are becoming very popular for reducing insurance over there.

If its not the states I'm pretty sure it is somewhere for this very reason......I think reversing camera's are a really good idea for this sort of thing and they should be set up so they come on automatically

[dmdigital]

I think reversing camera's are a really good idea for this sort of thing and they should be set up so they come on automatically

I'll reiterate what I said before:
Technology is not the answer, education is first and foremost. Even if they had a camera there are people who wouldn't use it.

If people don't look in the mirror, they are also not going to look at the camera's screen. I'm not by any means saying cameras are a bad thing, just that they are the end part of the solution. So many vehicles now have terrible blind spots that they do help (as do parking sensors). But if people aren't thinking, concentrating, looking around, aware of what's happening outside of the vehicle, all the technology in the world still won't help them unless it interlocks to the cars engine and brakes and stops them dead in their tracks when it detects something.

My biggest fear, where I live, is backing in to the neighbours Patrol as it comes hurtling out of the opposing driveway. There are a number of small kids and an ad-hoc pedestrian traffic in the street so I am always careful and slow at reversing out of the driveway. The neighbour, unfortunately, isn't

[dullbird]

I'll reiterate wforemost. Even if they had a

camera there are people who wouldn't use it.hat I said before:
Technology is not the answer, education is first and

If people don't look in the mirror, they are also not going to look at the camera's screen.

I'm not by any means saying cameras are a bad thing, just that they are the end part of the solution.

So many vehicles now have terrible blind spots that they do help (as do parking sensors). But if people aren't thinking, concentrating, looking around, aware of what's happening outside of the vehicle, all the technology in the world still won't help them unless it interlocks to the cars engine and brakes and stops them dead in their tracks when it detects something.

My biggest fear, where I live, is backing in to the neighbours Patrol as it comes hurtling out of the opposing driveway. There are a number of small kids and an ad-hoc pedestrian traffic in the street so I am always careful and slow at reversing out of the driveway. The neighbour, unfortunately, isn't

Derek.......with all due respect I never said cameras were a solution I said I thought they were a good idea!

So no need to reiterate to me!

and in regards to your comment I dont agree with your claim that technology is not the answer I think technology is part of the answer....

I wonder how many people had the same agrument over ABS brakes