New Proposed Legislation Highlights Dangerous Front Blind Zones
Consumer Reports supports a bill that could improve safety technology aimed at protecting children from big trucks
Ford F-150
By Benjamin Preston
Recent evaluations by Consumer Reports showed that ever-popular pickup trucks and large SUVs have grown in size over the past couple of decades. And their growing stature has led to a big problem: a huge blind zone in front of the grille where children and other pedestrians aren’t detectable to the driver. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) plans to introduce the STOP Frontovers Act today. It aims to address the risk of “frontover” injuries—the type where pedestrians, particularly children, can be injured or killed by slow moving trucks because the driver cannot see directly in front of the vehicle.
“Drivers not only should know what is behind their car, but also what is in front and possibly hidden from view,” says Oriene Shin, CR’s policy counsel for safety policy. “This bill takes a step in the right direction by requiring that vehicles, especially larger trucks and SUVs, have the technology to alert the driver or provide additional forward views when there is an object in front of the vehicle to help to prevent these ‘frontover’ accidents. Every member of Congress should support and work to pass the STOP Frontovers Act, and help keep people, especially children, safe.”
Full-sized pickup trucks—which are the most popular models on the market—can have a blind zone 11 feet longer than a car, and 7 feet longer than an SUV, Consumer Reports has found. Because of that, drivers may be more likely to hit pedestrians, cyclists, and smaller vehicles they cannot see. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced earlier this year that it would investigate frontover accidents, and Senator Blumenthal’s bill is another step toward requiring automakers to address the front blind zone issue in larger vehicles. If it passes, it will instruct NHTSA to develop requirements to help drivers detect objects or people in areas ahead of the vehicle they cannot see.
Jen Stockburger, director of operations at CR’s Auto Test Center, points out that the technology for providing additional visibility directly ahead of a vehicle may already be available in the form of front-view or surround-view cameras, even for truck and SUV models that don’t yet offer a safety-oriented version. Several pickups and SUVs, for example, are available with front-mounted trail cameras that enable the driver to see over obstacles when the truck is cresting a steep hill. And with backup cameras standard in new vehicles, the screen needed to see what’s in the rear blind spot is already in place.
The additional cameras, typically marketed for convenience, or as parking assist systems rather than for safety, would place more importance on their role as safety features.
“When backup cameras were added, it was a bigger step because manufacturers had to work new technology and screens into every car,” says Stockburger. “Additional cameras and, in some cases, sensors for protection against frontovers may prove to be less of a hurdle for automakers because the screen, and in many cases, the cameras or sensors, may already be there.”
If the bill passes, NHTSA will be required to develop and propose a new federal safety standard that would address frontover accidents. As the agency works through this process, automakers, safety groups, and members of the public will have an opportunity to weigh in during a comment period before the rule is finalized. Until that happens, there are few specific details concerning how the systems would work, or what technologies would be required.
But even if frontover detection systems become required in new vehicles soon, Stockburger says there will still be a lot of existing big trucks and SUVs already on the road without the technology.
“People driving those larger vehicles need to take extra care that there are no children in front of them before they proceed,” she says. “Walking around the vehicle, making sure that young children can’t follow you out when you’re departing, or assuring any nearby children are in your line-of-sight are good habits to establish, especially in areas where children are around or play.”
Outside of driveways and parking lots, drivers of these vehicles must also take more care when turning, when approaching crosswalks and stop signs, and when driving in areas populated with pedestrians and cyclists.
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