Dangerous Front Blind Spots Growing As American SUVs, Trucks Get Larger

Hudson Foschi was a vibrant 4-year-old who died in a preventable accident when his mother, Jackie, pulled into their driveway in January 2019. She thinks her son ran to get the mail, but she said that from inside her full-size SUV, she never saw him. 

"I was kind of, like, running around everywhere looking for him," Jackie Foschi said. "And then, I looked under the car and he was there." 

Vehicles have a blind zone directly in front of the hood that grows with the size of the car. 

Americans' shift to larger trucks and SUVs comes as deaths from these front-over crashes more than doubled in five years, according to the Department of Transportation, killing over 500 in 2020. Experts say the victims are often small children. 

Consumer Reports tested the front blind zones of 15 vehicles, ranging from about three feet for a small sports car to as much as 15 feet for a full-size pickup. 

The larger the car, the larger the blind zone. 

Automakers told CBS News that "safety is a top priority" and "vehicles continue to get even more safe as automakers … test, develop and integrate new safety technologies." 

Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, is proposing legislation to make front-facing cameras and collision avoidance sensors standard. The technology already exists, but the camera is often an expensive add-on. It's similar to back-up cameras that have been required in all new vehicles since 2018. 

"Safety should not be a premium feature," Blumenthal said. "It should be standard just like airbags and seatbelts." 

Jackie Foschi agrees and hopes her family's tragedy can help make cars safer. 

"I would never want another parent to experience this," she said. "It's terrible." 

Safety experts and the auto industry recommend walking around the car before getting in if you don't have a forward-facing camera in your vehicle.