This is why it’s so important to look before you reverse
Paramedics have sent out an important message to drivers: be alert when you reverse your vehicle.
This report comes after several incidents in which the paramedics had to attend to children who became seriously injured, even fatally, when cars reversed into them.
In one incident, a one-year-old boy was killed when a family-friend accidentally knocked him over while reversing out of the driveway.
ER24 spokeswoman Chitra Bodasing said the incidents were attended to both at people’s homes and in public areas such as parking lots.
IOL News reported a Paramedic, Cameron Horner, commenting that it was important to make sure children were out of harm’s way at all times.
“Put them in the vehicle first or make sure somebody is holding them a safe distance away from a moving vehicle.
“If you are in an area where you know there are children, make sure you look around before reversing,” he said.
Psychologist and counsellor, Sarah Cohen-Schwarz , said children lost their trust for their parents in incidents like these, even if they are very young.
What to do in an emergency like this:
IOL News gives us the following advice in a case where a car has reversed into a person/child.
First ensure your safety. The vehicle needs to be switched off and prevented from further movement.
Try not to move the injured person unnecessarily as this may cause further injury. However, if the person is in danger or unable to breathe, sufficient movement to remove the person from danger or to open the airway should be done as carefully as possible.
Control visible bleeding by direct pressure on the wound with a clean dressing or piece of cloth.
Do not give the person anything to drink until professional medical help has arrived.