Home is supposed to be a safe environment for everyone. Home is supposed to be safe for every member of the family. But with increasing frequency, driveways are becoming death traps for children.

Experts call them "back over accidents," and these accidents, which are completely preventable, occur when somebody driving a car, very often a large SUV, backs over a child resulting in crippling or fatal injuries. And back over accidents are on the rise. Perhaps this is just one more reason to hate SUVs.

These accidents happen very quickly. It takes only a split second to change a family and child's life forever. At least one test has demonstrated that SUV drivers, using regular rear view mirrors, often cannot see children playing behind their vehicles. These visibilty issues are one of the main concerns with SUVs. Imagine knowing that you've just run over somebody that you love very much. It's safe to say none of us wish to even imagine this, but it happens, everyday, all over the nation.

And yet, there are technologies available that can decrease the chances of these accidents taking place. TV cameras can be mounted on the back of your car, costing around $700 when professionally installed. While this may be an expensive purchase for some, it serves as an investment for some level of protection.

Wide-angle lenses are much less expensive and can also prevent back over accidents. These lenses are mounted to the rear window of the vehicle. There are also sensors that can be installed in the back of the vehicle, though due to sensitivity levels, don't appear to be as effective as lenses or cameras. The sensors may stop you from hitting an inanimate object, but not a moving child.

The basic fact is there, SUVs are too large, the visibility too low, for a driver to be absent minded for even a moment, especially where children are concerned. When you have such a large vehicle, there's no moment in time for a lapse in judgment. Even the most minute of lapses can injure lives.The most logical advice it seems, is to look behind your vehicle before you even start the engine.

Always check your mirrors before moving your vehicle to make sure that children have not run behind it. Know where your children are. If they were outside when you entered the vehicle, where are they now? And lastly, talk to your children about the dangers of playing around vehicles. Help them to understand how to protect themselves.

Published: May 26, 2005

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Stuart Lieberman, Esq. writes about environmental issues. He was a New Jersey Deputy Attorney General assigned to the State Department of Environmental Protection from 1986 to 1990. Currently he is a shareholder in the environmental law firm of Lieberman & Blecher, P.C., located in Princeton, New Jersey. Stuart can be reached at slieberman@liebermanblecher.com.