As the size of the vehicle increases, so does the likelihood of it being involved in a back-over accident.
According to the NSC and the NHSTA:
- Back-over accidents caused 500 deaths and resulted in 15,000 injuries annually
- More than 1/3 of back-over fatalities occur in driveways and parking lots
Backing and key collision failures include:
- Failure to look before backing
- Failure to check blind spots
- Failure to conduct a walk-around
- Backing at an unsafe speed
- Failure to check mirrors often
Backing prevention
- Park so a vehicle can be pulled forward
- Be aware of the vehicle’s height
- Walk around a vehicle to determine clearance; look up
- Use a helper to ensure there are no obstacles in the vehicle’s blind spots
- Back slowly, so steering errors can be corrected, and the vehicle can be stopped without incident
Get Out And Look According to the National Safety Council:
- Park Backing maneuvers are responsible for at least 25% of all vehicle accidents
- Darkness reduces visibility. NSC recommends checking vehicle lights on pre and post-trip inspections.
- Keep cameras and mirrors clean
- Have a plan for non-routine tasks, GOAL (Get out and look)
