As our cars get bigger and bigger, so do our blind spots, specifically a driver’s ability to see what’s in front of your fender.
NBC Responds teams around the country brought this eye-opening problem to the attention of drivers and lawmakers.
On Monday, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D) announced a bill to address this problem.
The STOP Frontovers Act would require some kind of device, camera or sensor to be required in the front of all cars to help prevent the problem.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
A frontover crash occurs when a driver hits someone right in front of them.
These deaths have more than doubled from 251 in 2008 to 526 in 2020, according to data from the Department of Transportation.
Many of the victims are four years old or younger and data shows most happen in a driveway, garage or parking lot.
Local
NBC CT Responds has showed you this startling demonstration before.
This summer, our sister station in DC found blind spots with SUVs could be up to 16 feet, a driver barely able to see 10 kids sitting in front of the vehicle.
On The Today Show. NBC News Senior Consumer Investigative Correspondent Vicki Nguyen did the same demo along with Blumenthal. Parents who witnessed the demonstration right here at the Consumer Reports test track in Connecticut were stunned.
Because of the NBC Responds consumer investigation, Blumenthal said he’s taking action to mandate that all cars have equipment to detect the driver of what’s in front of you.
“All cars because the more cars have them, the less expensive it will be. Safety should not be a matter of affordability. Safety ought to be standard and these devices can save kids’ lives," Blumenthal said.
“There needs to be cameras, you need to be able to see in the front,” said Virginia mother Jackie Foschi.
Foschi will never forget the pain of losing her almost five-year-old son Hudson in a frontover crash in 2019.
“It happens in an instant and when it does, your life is forever changed,” said Foschi, who said she remembers dropping Hudson off in the driveway to get the mail, like they always did. “All I know is when I got out of my car and I started screaming for him, he didn’t answer, and the last place I wanted to look was under my car.”
Since the passing of Hudson, Foschi has traded in her large SUV for a smaller vehicle with better sight lines and camera technology she believes would have saved her son's life.
“I just would love to see not another parent not have to go through what our family and so many others are going through," Foschi said.
As potential legislation works its way through the proper channels, experts say you should get in the habit of checking around your car before you move it and be very aware of where kids are.
