Quest for Zero: Air Force campaign promotes vehicle backing safety Published Aug. 7, 2015 By Steve Sereete 72nd ABW Safety Office TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Can you guess what driving activity occupies less than 1 percent of a vehicle operator's time behind the wheel, but regularly, year after year, produces approximately 25 percent of all accidents? The Air Force's Vehicle Backing Focus Safety Campaign is from Aug. 10-14. The intent of this effort is awareness -- to remind the Air Force family: active duty, civilians, Guard, Reserve and family members of the hazards of vehicles backing up during on and off-duty activities. About 99 percent of the time drivers are behind the wheel, they are moving forward. But it's the rest of the time -- that tiny 1 percent when they are backing up -- when a disproportionate number of collisions take place. In fact, the National Safety Council estimates that 25 percent of accidents can be blamed on poor backing techniques. Backing accidents cause approximately 500 deaths and 15,000 injuries annually. At home: Every year, thousands of children are killed or very seriously injured because a driver backing up didn't see them. Most "backover" home accidents occur when a vehicle is being backed out of the driveway or parking space. "Backover" tragedies change the lives of parents, families, and communities forever. In the U.S., approximately 50 children are backed over by vehicles every week. Other facts: · Forty-eight children are treated in hospital emergency rooms and at least two are fatally injured every week. · The predominant age of victims is 1 year old. · More than 60 percent of home backing incidents involve a larger-sized vehicle (SUV, van, truck). · Tragically, in more than 70 percent of these incidents, a parent or close relative is behind the wheel. It is one of the most horrific, unthinkable accidents that can happen to a child and it usually takes place less than a few feet from your very own front door. Many outdoor activities summon children to play in the driveway -- riding bikes, drawing with chalk, playing basketball or playing with water hoses -- and all of these can, and do turn from fun to tragedy in mere seconds. All of these accidents occur for a variety of reasons, but a main contributory factor involves the lapse of lack of proper adult supervision of the children. On and off the job: The Air Force has experienced several avoidable backing accidents (during both wartime and peacetime) over the past years with some unfortunately, resulting in the victim's death. To avoid these preventable accidents while on and off the job, use the following safety tips: · Get to know your vehicle's blind zones/spots: Before moving the vehicle, know that in a medium-sized truck, blind zones/spots can extend up to 16 feet in front and 160 feet behind a vehicle. Drivers must remember that mirrors can never give the whole picture while attempting backing. · Think in advance: Drivers should not place themselves in unnecessary backing situations. · Park defensively: Drivers must choose "easy-exit" parking spaces that don't crowd neighboring vehicles and park their vehicle in the center of the parking space. · Conduct a "walk-around" inspection: Doing the pre-inspection before moving the vehicle provides the operator a first-hand view of the backing area and any limitations such as obstructions, low-hanging trees and wires. Remember, at home children and pets provide a very real danger during vehicle backing. · Every backing situation is new and different: Sometimes a vehicle operator visits the same location several times a day and therefore must be watchful each visit for environmental changes and new obstacles. · Use a spotter/ground guide: A driver must use another person to help them when backing. The operator and spotter/ground guide must use hand-signals instead of verbal ones and each must ensure they understand each other's signals. What if I don't have a spotter/ground guide? When drivers spot themselves, they need to return to the vehicle and start backing within a few seconds after completing the walk-around. This will allow very little time for people or obstacles to appear behind the vehicle. Backing without a spotter should only take place after the driver has as much information about the area as possible. Some vehicles are equipped with a back-up alarm that can help warn away pedestrians and drivers of other vehicles who may try to enter the area the vehicle is backing into. Sound your horn as a warning when appropriate. · Long-term solutions to safe backing: Installation of rear-vision camera systems in vehicles virtually eliminates rear blind-spots. Investing in a rear-vision camera system for vehicles can put drivers in full visual control of the rear of the vehicle. · Practice, practice, practice: No amount of "forward-driving" experience will help a driver with backing a truck or any other vehicle. All vehicle operators need to practice in safe surroundings until they become familiar with the way the vehicle backs up compared to the direction the steering wheel is turned. · Never back long distances, unless absolutely necessary. It is much safer to turn around and cover the distance going forward. There are several reasons for the frequency of backing accidents, but most are related to inattentiveness on the part of the driver. Drivers may fail to exercise as much caution as usual because they think that a backing accident is not likely to result in much damage or injury to themselves. After all, they will not be traveling very fast nor backing up very far. Also, drivers backing up are often in a hurry to emerge from a parking space or driveway during a brief break in traffic. More often than not, operators simply fail to check the area before backing, trusting the limited view from the driver's position or over-relying on mirrors. Recently, numerous accessories have come on the market for passenger vehicles that are designed to help drivers avoid backing into people or things. These include a backup light that beeps continuously while a vehicle is in reverse, an obstacle detection system that can be mounted to a fender or license plate frame and a rear-mounted camera with front-seat monitor to show whether the path is clear. So the answer to my opening question about what driving activity occupies less than 1 percent of a vehicle operator's time behind the wheel, but regularly, year after year, produces approximately 25 percent of all accidents is "backing!" In the interest of your sanity, your pocketbook from a possible lawsuit, the people around your vehicle when backing, government and other personal property, and the Quest for Zero goals -- think before you act. (Some parts thanks to Safety.com, tdi.texas.gov, National Safety Council, Texas. Department of Insurance, kidsandcars.org and AFMAN 24-306)