New Law May Have Saved Toddler Killed in Georgia Driveway Accident

Last week, a two-year-old boy was killed when he was struck by the vehicle that his father was backing out of a driveway.  
 
The Atlanta pedestrian accident happened Saturday, December 18.  The child was pronounced dead at the scene.
 
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) an average of 292 fatalities and 18,000 injuries occur each year as a result of back-over crashes.  Most of these, 228 fatalities, involve light-weight passenger vehicles and about 44 percent of the victims are children under five.  Another 33 percent are elderly people 70 years of age or older.
 
A new federal regulation is aimed at preventing the accidental death and injury of pedestrians in low-speed back-up accidents.  The U.S. Department of Transportation recently proposed a new safety regulation that will help eliminate blind spots behind vehicles that hide the presence of pedestrians. 
 
The new requirements would expand the required field of view so that driver of a passenger vehicle will be able to what is directly behind his vehicle when the car’s transmission is in reverse.  Manufacturers will install rear mounted video cameras and in-vehicle displays to meet these new standards. These features will be a part of all new vehicles in 2014.
 
Atlanta accident attorney Shane smith represents persons injured in Georgia pedestrian accidents. To learn more, contact Shane Smith Law at 770-HURT-999.