There can be nothing more painful than being responsible for the accidental death of your own child. In the last five years, almost a dozen children have died after being hit by vehicles driven by a family member at home.
Just on Friday, an 18-month-old Indian girl died when she was hit by her father’s vehicle while he was reversing his SUV at their home. In January, a four-year-old Emirati girl was fatally crushed after being run over by her uncle at the family home in Ras Al Khaimah. The child was playing in the garage. In another tragedy, an 18-month-old Emirati boy was killed after his uncle accidentally reversed over him in Al Ain in February 2014.
These tragedies bring untold grief to the families involved and also shock society. It is not clear if prosecutors have pressed charges against drivers responsible for the death of children in such cases. For authorities, this is a tricky issue – how to press charges against such drivers who are going through an agonising period of grief and self-blame.
A dozen deaths of children, however, are too many to be ignored. These mishaps have a pattern, with the negligence of drivers and a lack of supervision of children being the two main causes. Police have often reminded parents to check that the area beneath and around their cars is clear before reversing. It is not enough to simply check the rear-view mirror before pulling out as small children can remain hidden in the blind spots of large vehicles such as four-wheel-drives, pick-ups and minivans. Police have also asked motorists to pay close attention to rear-view cameras and to alerts from the proximity sensors of their vehicles. It is high time parents pay attention to this advisory and supervise their children.
