Dramatic new SmartWitness dashcam footage captures the terrifying moment a boy is hit by a van and has a very lucky escape. It shows once again how fleets can protect their drivers by having in-cab CCTV in all their vehicles.
The youngster – believed to be eight – charges out into the road between two parked vehicles and flies off the van’s bumper after being struck before tumbling onto the road and running off.
The van driver is completely unsighted and could do nothing to avoid the collision with the lad wearing a Manchester United kit and carrying a yo-yo who was badly bruised but otherwise unhurt.
The van was travelling at 32kpm (20mph) at the time of the collision. If it had been going just 10mph faster the likelihood of death would have been five times higher.
The accident happened 300 metres away from a Manchester primary school.
The footage was released by vehicle CCTV specialists SmartWitness this week to hammer the road safety message to children as they prepare to go back to school and to show how the footage can protect fleets drivers in the event of a collision.
An estimated 69% of child road accidents occur near school gates – averaging out at six accidents a year for each school in the UK.
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This collision happened in in Hulme, Manchester – close to St Wilfrid’s (corr) Primary School.
Last year, there were 16,101 accidents involving children on Britain’s roads and 54 child fatalities.
SmartWitness released the footage this week to warn all drivers to be extra vigilant at this time of year, particularly when they are travelling near to schools, and to show how the footage can be vital in proving the innocence of fleet drivers.
A SmartWitness spokesman said: “This is particularly dangerous time of the year for our schoolchildren as they all return for the new autumn term.
“We hope by releasing this footage we will encourage drivers to slow down around schools and also remind parents and their children to be extra vigilant when travelling to and from school.
“This little boy had a very lucky escape after running out into the road from behind a parked van. It is vital we keep hammering the road safety message to prevent more avoidable accidents like this.
“The van driver was obviously very badly shaken after the accident but also highly relieved that the boy was unhurt. The footage shows quite clearly that he was completely blameless. What would have happened if the driver had not been covered by the camera? There were no other witness on the road and he could easily have ended up being blamed for a collision which was unavoidable.
“The footage shows again how vital vehicle CCTV is in protecting all fleet drivers. It provides court admissible proof of exactly what happens on our roads.”
Dashcams are increasingly being used by drivers to prove their innocence after accidents like this one involving the boy.
From 2014 to 2015 there was a 918% increase in dashcam sales. SmartWitness is Britain’s leading vehicle CCTV company and all its footage is court admissible.
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