By Keely Arthur, WRAL consumer reporter
WRAL News
As pickup trucks and large SUVs grow in size, so does the risk to people around them. Consumer Reports demonstrates how big these blind zones can be and how we can help to protect our families.
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Pickup trucks and crossover SUVs dominate the roadways in North Carolina.
As pickup trucks and large SUVs grow in size, so does the risk to people around them, such as when drivers hit people directly in front of them because of dangerous blind zones just past the hood. Consumer Reports demonstrates how big these blind zones can be and how we can help to protect our families.
Influenced by Consumer Reports’ testing of rear visibility, backup cameras have been required on all new cars since 2018.
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Backup cameras have saved lives by giving us all that additional view when we are moving backward. Now we need to shift the focus to the safety in front of the vehicle.
Latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that in 2020 there were over 500 deaths and more than 10,000 “frontover” injuries due to forward-moving vehicles and a disproportionate number of frontover victims are children. According to Kids and Cars, about 81 percent of victims are 6 and under.
One reason: As vehicles have grown in size, so have the blind zones around them.
There's currently no law requiring vehicles to have front cameras or sensors.
"There are already so many large vehicles on the roads that awareness has to be part of it," said Jennifer Stockburger with Consumer Reports. "If you are driving a large vehicle, maybe walk around the vehicle, or make sure all kids in the area are in your line of sight before that vehicle starts to move."
A bill called the STOP Frontovers Act is in Congress and could require changes to certain vehicles to help prevent these types of crashes.
Original Article: LINK
