For Hazel — Safety

Hazel was on the sidewalk.

Not in the driveway. On the sidewalk — where every child is told they are safe.

The gap no one talks about

A car reversing out of a driveway creates a moving blind zone that crosses the sidewalk before the driver can see street traffic. For a few seconds, a child on the sidewalk is inside that blind zone — and has no idea they are in danger.

A taller vehicle makes it worse: the rear blind zone of a pickup can stretch 8 feet wide and 50 feet long. This can happen to any child, anywhere on the block. It is not about one driveway — it is about all of us.

Blind-zone figures: Lieff Cabraser blind-zone study.

What the numbers say

Every figure here is sourced. None of it is meant to frighten — only to show how ordinary, and how preventable, this is.

50
children a week

are backed over in the U.S. — about 48 are taken to the ER, and two do not survive.

Kids and Car Safety
39%
happen at home

of backover fatalities occur in residential spaces — driveways and the areas around them.

IIHS
70%
a familiar driver

of backover incidents involve a parent or relative behind the wheel. This can happen to any of us.

Kids and Car Safety
~50%
fewer severe injuries

since backup cameras became standard in 2018 — and 78% fewer fatal cases among small children.

Kids and Car Safety · AAP 2025

A few seconds can save a life

One small habit, kept every time, does more than a long checklist no one remembers. Here is the short version for each of us.

Every driver

  • Pause before reversing. Look left, look right, check your mirrors. Four seconds.
  • Roll down the window when backing out — children make noise even when you can’t see them.
  • Back in when you park, so you pull out facing the street.
  • Trim hedges and shrubs at the edge of your driveway. One-time fix, permanent visibility.
  • Designate a spotter when children are nearby and a car needs to move.

Every parent

  • Teach children that parked cars might move — and that seeing a car doesn’t mean the driver sees them.
  • Pick a "car-moving spot" — a porch step or lawn edge — where kids stay whenever any nearby car is running.
  • Know where your children are before any vehicle moves. Every time.

Every neighbor

  • Look before you back — every single time, whether or not you think kids are around.
  • Know which families on your block have young children, and slow down accordingly.
  • Driving a pre-2018 vehicle? Add a backup camera. It costs about the same as a car seat.

About the cost of a car seat

If you drive a vehicle built before May 2018, it may not have a backup camera. Adding one runs roughly $150–$400 all in — about what you'd spend on a car seat, and it can cut the worst outcomes dramatically.

Learn more from Kids and Car Safety →

Take the pledge

The Hazel Pause

Before I reverse, I take five seconds. I look left. I look right. I check my mirrors. I listen. Then I go.

For Hazel — and for every child on every sidewalk.

Be one of the first to take the Hazel Pause.

Organizations doing this work

Kids and Car Safety

The leading U.S. nonprofit on backover prevention, with a survivor advocacy program for families.

Safe Kids Worldwide

Pediatric injury prevention, with networks that reach families through doctors' offices.

NHTSA Child Safety

Federal data and guidance on keeping children safe in and around vehicles.