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Reversing cameras could save lives

Eight Australian children aged under five die each year when run over by reversing vehicles.

... according to a new US study.

Eight Australian children aged under five die each year when run over by reversing vehicles. Queensland has the worst rate of reversing fatalities with four per year, while in one recent week in Victoria and NSW, four children died.

A study by American engineering and scientific consulting company Exponent has this week found that reversing tragedies could be reduced if vehicles were equipped with a reversing camera screen in the rearview mirror.

However, Kidsafe spokeswoman Susan Teerds says reversing cameras are an aid, not the solution.

"If a child runs behind a car and the driver is just concentrating on the reversing camera screen, they could still potentially run over a child," she said. 

"I don't think the position of the screen is as important as the quality of the vision you get. Reversing cameras are designed to prevent you hitting other vehicles; they're not designed with children in mind. If they were you would have three cameras; one on each side and one behind the car."

A rearview camera did not prevent former Wallaby hooker Brendan Cannon from accidentally backing over his 18-month-old son, Samuel, last year in his four-wheel-drive vehicle.

Most reversing camera systems provide a view of the area directly behind the vehicle with the screen located in the dashboard or centre console.

Exponent lead researcher Dr Douglas Young says their findings support previous studies showing that rear camera systems reduce reversing accidents and that mirror-integrated rear camera displays are more effective than those located in the centre console.

"By placing the rear camera display in the mirror, you can increase display usage, improve driver scan patterns, enhance productive gaze durations and minimise reaction times," he says.

Several aftermarket companies provide reversing camera screens in rearview mirrors for less than $200, while there is a growing number of manufacturers now offering them including Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Toyota.

Hyundai Santa Fe owner Danielle Moon (pictured above) says she and husband, Gavin, bought the car specifically because it had a rearview camera.

"It was one of the features we wanted in the car because we've just had a baby daughter, Gracie," she says. "I hadn't had a car with a rearview camera before but it seems to be very user friendly with the screen in the mirror."

The 10th National Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion in Brisbane this week heard that seven out of 10 parents allow children to play unsupervised on or near their driveway.

A study by Queensland University of Technology of nearly 140 care-givers also found that 77 per cent of parents surveyed said the driveway was a safe space, with more than half sometimes using the driveway as a children's play area.