Kids ‘N Cars, a consumer organization working to make it safer for children to be around cars, is calling attention to the problem of the blind spot--that area behind the vehicle that you can’t see from the driver’s seat. The organization notes that at least 58 children were backed over and killed last year alone.

How big can the blind spot be? We measured a sedan, minivan, SUV, and pickup to find out. We used a 28-inch-high traffic cone, measuring how far behind the vehicle it would have to be before an average (5 feet 8 inches) and short (5 feet 1 inch) driver could see it.

As the illustration at right shows, the larger vehicles tend to have a significantly larger blind spot. (The shading shows the length of each blind spot; lighter for an average-height driver, darker for a shorter driver.)

It’s best to always look carefully behind the vehicle before you get in and again before you put the car in gear. Also, always back up slowly