Your Car's Blind Spot May Be Bigger Than You Think

A blind spot is literally that — the area you can't see when backing up your car. Parents have run over their own young children because they ran behind the car and couldn't be seen. Some cars' blind spots are huge, 6 feet wide and 50 feet long, according to Janette Fennell, Founder and President of the non-profit group Kids and Cars. The taller, longer and wider a car is, the more trouble you'll have with blind spots, increasing the chances someone could get hurt.

Besides taking precautions such as making sure you know where your kids are before you move a vehicle or having another adult supervise children at that time, Ms. Fennell says new technology can save lives too. Many new cars have rear sensors with warning signals or video cameras, which are like having eyes in the back of your head. Older cars can be retrofitted with either one or both of these options.