New Law Aims to Enhance Auto Safety for Children

On October 19, 2002, 2 year old Cameron Gulbransen was killed when his father, Greg Gulbransen, accidentally ran over him in the family’s driveway. The accident was attributed to a blind spot behind Mr. Gulbransen’s BMW X5, which made it impossible for him to see little Cameron. In the aftermath of this horrific accident, Cameron’s father wanted to do something to make sure that other children did not suffer the same terrible fate.

According to the nonprofit group Kids and Cars, in 2007 alone there were 725 incidents involving 942 children left unattended in or around vehicles, resulting in 227 fatalities. The group’s stated mission is to ensure that mission is to assure no child dies or is injured in a non-traffic, motor vehicle related event. Kids and Cars has pressured lawmakers and auto industry leaders to do more to ensure the safety of America’s youngest citizens in and around motor vehicles.

To protect children in and around vehicles, the Gulbransens and about 21 other families whose children were killed or seriously injured in non-traffic vehicle accidents partnered with a number of groups including Kids And Cars, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Public Citizen, Center for Auto Safety, CFA, NCL, the Trauma Foundation, and Consumers Union to sponsor the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act.

Highlighting non-traffic dangers

When asked about child automobile safety, most people think about making sure kids are buckled up into age-appropriate restraints and ensuring they abide by traffic laws to keep their little ones safe while driving. Few people consider the non-traffic dangers of automobiles. However according to Kids and Cars, in the last 7 years over 1,350 children died in non-traffic incidents. While this is only about 10% of all automobile deaths each year – the remainder can be attributed to auto accidents – advocates say it’s a significant enough number to warrant further government oversight.

Back-over incidents – the kind of accident that claimed the life of little Cameron Gulbransen – have increased dramatically in the last few years as large trucks and SUVs rise in popularity. Between 2002 and 2006, these accidents have claimed the lives of 474 children – a dramatic increase from 128 deaths in the four year period between 1997 and 2001. Backovers are now thought to account for half of all non-traffic fatalities involving children, however the federal government does not collect data about non-traffic incidents. Because of this, Kids and Cars speculates that the fatality numbers could be much higher.

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) paint an equally grim picture. Nationwide, nearly 2,500 children per year ages 1-14 go to the emergency room with injuries from a vehicle backing up, which results on average in 229 fatal injuries per year.

Non-traffic fatalities can be broken down into the following types of accidents, according to Kids and Cars:

• Backover accidents 49.5%
• Hyperthermia 19.6%
• Frontover accidents 13.4%
• Vehicle set in motion 7.1%
• Other 5.4%
• Underage driver 2.8%
• Power window strangulation 2.1%

New transportation safety act signed into law

On February 28, 2008 President Bush signed the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act into law. According to Safe Kids Worldwide, the act will “provide critical information about the circumstances surrounding non-traffic related deaths to children as well as help develop a multi-faceted approach, including important technological solutions, that will lead to preventing many needless injuries and deaths.”

Under the act, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is directed to research the following safety issues:

• Power window safety: Initiate rulemaking to consider issuing or amending the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to require that power window mechanisms be equipped with an automatic reverse feature activated if the window's path is obstructed.
• Vehicle blind spots: Initiate rulemaking to consider issuing or amending Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to reduce a vehicle's "blind spot," by establishing requirements for different types of motor vehicles that could be met through the integration of additional mirrors, back-up cameras, sensors or other technologies
• Brake transmission shift interlock: Require that all vehicles all vehicles manufactured after September 1, 2010 and equipped with an automatic transmission system using a 'park' position also be equipped with a system that prevents the vehicle from being shifted out of 'park' unless the brake pedal is depressed.

The Act also requires that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) establish a database to store information about non-traffic and non-crash related injuries, fatalities, and incidents. NHTSA is required to track the make and model and year of the vehicle involved, the number and type of injuries or fatalities, and the potential causes of the injuries or fatalities. The agency is expected to make this information publicly available over the internet, and must also use it for a consumer awareness program to reduce non-traffic related incidents.

Richard Serpe and the Serpe Firm care about you and your family’s safety. We hope that the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act makes a difference for children across America, and that the number of children injured and killed in non-traffic accidents goes down dramatically. If the worst should happen to you and someone you love is injured or killed in an automobile accident, then please know you are not alone. We urge you to contact The Serpe Firm today and let us work with you to help you recover from the devastating effects of an auto accident so you can get your life back on track.

Law Offices of Richard J. Serpe, P.C.
580 East Main Street, Suite 310
Norfolk, VA 23510
Phone: 757-233-0009
Fax: 757-233-0455