Walking through a parking lot the other day I heard one of those electronic reverse beepers going off. It was a late model electric car and the driver seemed ready to leave his parking space. Except that he wasn’t.
The beeper, a little annoying, kept going and going but still no reverse action. I saw that the driver was waiting for his passenger to gather belongings, get organized and step out of the vehicle. That took a good minute. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Passenger out, the driver then grabbed his cellphone and fiddled around with it for another couple of minutes. I had time to walk to my car, get in, start, drive through the lot just as the electric car guy finally moved out. Total time idling in reverse, around four to five minutes.
This parking lot is a busy one, a kid’s playground nearby, with lots of little ones doing their thing.
It was a benign scenario during an average urban day. But I felt it was actually a recipe for disaster.
This was the perfect situation for pedal confusion, those often reported incidents where a driver’s brain tells the foot to hit the gas instead of the brake. Would this driver forget he’s been in reverse for so long, take the foot off the brake, start rolling backwards, then punch the gas because the normal sequence of reversing for the brain was changed?
Uncommon? Actually no. It’s a weekly event.
December 10th, London UK, a car barrels 100 metres in reverse seriously injuring eight people. November 19th, Columbus Ohio, car reversing down main street kills pedestrian. August 27th, Montreal, car backing into driveway seriously injures 10 year old boy. Feb 25th, Toronto, nanny pushes small boys to safety as reversing car pushes her through storefront.
That was less than five minutes worth of internet browsing.
In Canada there’s around five reversing deaths and 300 injuries per year, many of them involving small children.
To be clear, I’m talking about two distinct problems here. One is uncontrolled reversing, often caused by pedal confusion. The other is reversing when unsafe, those times when you deliberately back-up, miss something behind you, and suddenly have a big problem. It’s happened to me.
Obviously, the vast majority of our driving time is spent going forward. On a per-kilometre basis this makes reversing the most dangerous part of operating a vehicle. So I’ve cringed a few times after some people told me they can’t go somewhere (usually downtown) because they’re no good at backing up. Or they can’t get into a parking space or backup to parallel park their car.
Backing a car is an essential driving skill. Being able to safely back up your vehicle is a requirement of having a licence. So is it time to shake the rust off and improve your reversing skills?
Federal law has required back-up bumper cameras in all vehicles weighing less than 4356 kilograms since May 2018. They’re definitely helpful but not a silver bullet. I liken it to looking through a camera viewfinder. You can see quite a bit, but there’s still a lot more beyond that little screen.
For routine reversing remember to:
* Take your time;
* Make sure mirrors are unobstructed and positioned properly — then use all of them;
* Put your head on a swivel. Look in every direction before reversing. As you back up, constantly scan regardless of your backup camera, remembering the front of your car is now moving too. Scan in all directions;
* Small slow turns on the steering wheel. Avoid quick manoeuvres, especially in tight spaces.
* In automatic transmission cars, keep the brake covered while reversing.
* When possible back into a parking space in a parking lot. It’s much easier and safer to pull out into the traffic lane going forward when you leave.
To prevent pedal confusion:
Avoid distractions. No cellphones. Let the passengers go before starting up and reversing;
Stay calm. If someone wants your coveted Christmas parking space, take a breath and concentrate on your maneuver. If they want it that badly, they’ll wait.
Hit the middle. Practice putting your foot on the centre of each pedal to develop muscle memory;
Get familiar. Thoroughly learn the pedal placement on a new car or a rental vehicle. Every car is different;
Go slow. Sudden fast maneuvers can cause panic and further loss of control.
New shoes are cruel. Many pedal confusion incidents start with the feet feeling different because you’re wearing heavy winter boots or festive season dress shoes.
Backing up safely is a basic driving function and the law. Please practice if you’re not really confident about it. Good habits, concentration and staying calm can go a long way in preventing both parking lot fender benders or complete tragedies.
