| carguy1234 |
I've had my MDX for less than a week and already I've had an experience where the backup camera saved me from running over a kid.
I was in the garage going through the XM stations and the NAV setups and voice controls. By the time I was ready to leave, I put in in reverse, and low and behold there was a neighbor boy (about 4 years old I think) crouched down behind my X several few feet back. He must have snuck up to look since it was new.
Anyway, I could not see him at all in any of the mirrors (my driveway has a slope to it so he was lower then me). Had it not been for the backup camera I would have went in reverse and nailed him. |
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| eurohazard |
| Jesus...lucky kid! I bet your heart was pounding! |
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| Pierre |
| Always a good idea to do a "circle check" before backing up, anyway. Always, always enter the vehicle after going around the back end, not the front if you're going to put it in reverse. You can then do a quick scan on your tires, while you're at it. |
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| carguy1234 |
quote:
Originally posted by Pierre
Always a good idea to do a "circle check" before backing up, anyway. Always, always enter the vehicle after going around the back end, not the front if you're going to put it in reverse. You can then do a quick scan on your tires, while you're at it.
I knew somebody would reply with that, and no, sorry, this suggestion isn't 100% infallible. In this case, the coast was clear before I started out, and became unclear during the time I got in the car and started going. Do you get out and do a circle walk around the car at every stop light and stop sign? What about while parking? Do you do a circle walk each time you park, and for every reverse maneuver during a parallel park? If not, why not?
I still think the back up camera is a good safety feature for unexpected occurrences like this. That Lexus commercial gives another good example of its use (kids playing hide and seek, running right behind a car even after the coast was clear seconds earlier). |
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| Pierre |
quote:
Originally posted by carguy1234
I knew somebody would reply with that, and no, sorry, this suggestion isn't 100% infallible. In this case, the coast was clear before I started out, and became unclear during the time I got in the car and started going. Do you get out and do a circle walk around the car at every stop light and stop sign? What about while parking? Do you do a circle walk each time you park, and for every reverse maneuver during a parallel park? If not, why not?
Of course not. All I'm suggesting is that you do a circle check after you've been parked, not while driving (parking, reversing, whatever).
I still think the back up camera is a good safety feature for unexpected occurrences like this. That Lexus commercial gives another good example of its use (kids playing hide and seek, running right behind a car even after the coast was clear seconds earlier).
Sure. The camera IS a good tool (I have it myself). All I'm saying is that doing a circle check after you've been parked for some time is an additional precaution. I'm not knocking th camera.
Your post suggested you had been in the car fussing with some of the controls. This suggests some time had elapsed between the time you got in and the time you decided to back up. In these cases, doing a circle check is definitely a help. I agree it's not infallible, but it does help.
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| ScoobyT |
| Maybe, just maybe, the parents should take better care of their kids? |
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| ardvarkus |
quote:
Originally posted by ScoobyT
Maybe, just maybe, the parents should take better care of their kids?
How DARE you suggest that any parent be held even partially responsible for any malady that befalls their child due to their failure to be a parent!
But still, neat that he didn't run the kid down- sounds like a lexus commercial...
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| EXCALIBUR |
quote:
Originally posted by ardvarkus
How DARE you suggest that any parent be held even partially responsible for any malady that befalls their child due to their failure to be a parent!
Huh?:hmmm: |
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| ardvarkus |
quote:
Originally posted by EXCALIBUR
Huh?:hmmm:
I was being facetious...
Didn't think it needed explanation. |
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| SirJOW |
quote:
Originally posted by ardvarkus
How DARE you suggest that any parent be held even partially responsible for any malady that befalls their child due to their failure to be a parent!
But still, neat that he didn't run the kid down- sounds like a lexus commercial...
A
I would agree with you completely if you'd replace the word "partially" with "fully"; the kid was 4 years old! Where was the parent??:3: |
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| EXCALIBUR |
quote:
Originally posted by ardvarkus
I was being facetious...
Didn't think it needed explanation.
Otay.:bonk: |
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| sakai |
Good save, CarGuy1234. That single episode was worth the extra $$ for the Touring/Navi.
During the split second the kid popped into the view of your rearview camera, he also popped OUT of the view of his parents. Any parent OR any driver knows how quickly this can happen no matter how careful you are. |
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| carguy1234 |
Here are some things that I didn't mention earlier that help show why this was such an unexpected occurrence:
- we don't have many small kids around, that young, in this neighborhood
- I'm not in a 'urban' area, and for someone to get in that position in my driveway you have to go out of your way to do it
- this particular kid lives a ways away (up the block from us). I've learned now that his parents let him pretty much run wild. They don't seem to mind him wandering from home.
- I don't recall ever having to wait for anyone while I backed out of my driveway in the over 5 years we've been here, so that's partly why my guard was down. Plus I had just walked around the car (I have to go around it to get to the drivers door) only a few minutes earlier. I have blind spots though (trees and a hill to one side) so if somebody was coming I wouldn't know until they were on me, like what happened in this case. |
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| BLEXV6 |
| I recall when getting my 04X that it was hard to justify the extra $4000 cdn, for the nav system, However the added back up camera and DVD system has made this a worthwhile option, and has also been very handy, (the back-up camera), for safety and in particular paralell parking and backing into a space. As a person who drives for a living, the nav system has been a godsend. Excellent value for this package. |
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| harmonr1 |
| My camera hasn't saved any kids yet but has saved quite a few bikes, scooters, skateboards and coffee cups. I live on a cul-de-sac which has about 7 kids all between 4 and 8 y.o. My next door neighbor has 4 boys and they watch them like hawks. Still, keeping you eye on 4 boys is quite a challenge. They may know where the kids are, but they drop their bikes, etc. and change gears so quick. But most importantly, I seem to leave my coffee cup or soda cup on the rear bumper while watching my son. Then I can't find it.:rolleyes: I get in my car and there is my cup!:2: |
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| Dr. Ken |
| Several times I have avoided popping someone while backing up in a parking lot by using the backup camera. To me, it is an invaluable device that everyone should have, especially in an SUV in which it is hard to see the back end from the rearview mirror. This will always be one of the several "must have" items when I am ready to get another SUV. |
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