Rearview Cameras Mandatory 2018+

[Kris Clewell]

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today issued a final rule requiring rear visibility technology in all new vehicles under 10,000 pounds by May 2018. This new rule enhances the safety of these vehicles by significantly reducing the risk of fatalities and serious injuries caused by backover accidents.

"Safety is our highest priority, and we are committed to protecting the most vulnerable victims of backover accidents — our children and seniors," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "As a father, I can only imagine how heart wrenching these types of accidents can be for families, but we hope that today's rule will serve as a significant step toward reducing these tragic accidents."

Today's final rule requires all vehicles under 10,000 pounds, including buses and trucks, manufactured on or after May 1, 2018, to come equipped with rear visibility technology that expands the field of view to enable the driver of a motor vehicle to detect areas behind the vehicle to reduce death and injury resulting from backover incidents. The field of view must include a 10-foot by 20-foot zone directly behind the vehicle. The system must also meet other requirements including image size, linger time, response time, durability, and deactivation.

"Rear visibility requirements will save lives, and will save many families from the heartache suffered after these tragic incidents occur," said NHTSA Acting Administrator David Friedman. "We're already recommending this kind of life-saving technology through our NCAP program and encouraging consumers to consider it when buying cars today."

On average, there are 210 fatalities and 15,000 injuries per year caused by backover crashes. NHTSA has found that children under 5 years old account for 31 percent of backover fatalities each year, and adults 70 years of age and older account for 26 percent.

NHTSA took time on this regulation to ensure that the policy was right and make the rule flexible and achievable. In fact, at this point, many companies are installing rear visibility systems on their own, due to consumer demand. Including vehicles that already have systems installed, 58 to 69 lives are expected to be saved each year once the entire on-road vehicle fleet is equipped with rear visibility systems meeting the requirements of today's final rule.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Pre...ity+Technology

[setho]

This make no sense.

I have three cars with backup cameras. I NEVER look at them unless I'm parallel parking. And even then, it's only if the situation is really tight.

If they insist on mandating something, backup sensors would make a lot more sense.

Now, my math may be wrong, but here in the US an average of 15 million vehicles are sold each year. At $150.00 per car, that's $2.2 billion dollars annually going to the automakers....

All of that to save 60 to 70 people a year?

What a waste of time, money and resources.

[mrgreenjeans]

Those figures may mean nothing to you if the child you lost, was the one backed over by your 78 year old neighbor

OR

your 16 year old daughter , recently learning to drive , just backed over the 2 year old she was supposed to be watching.

I have a back up camera in my wife's new SUV; it came standard in that model and was NOT an option. I use it all the time because outward and rearward visibility is greatly hindered by the bulk of the vehicle, especially if loaded with all 7 passengers or 5 bundles or batts of insulation in the rear cargo area.

Bottom line, children are going to get run over and people's legs will be cut off in parallel parking incidents by ill controlled vehicles operated by non attentive or distracted drivers. If properly used, this safety system makes far more sense than the newest in dash video technology for communication or amusement.

Why are we placing such an emphasis on those options for entertainment when this rear back up camera technology can save needless deaths or injuries from occurring ? And do so in a relatively inexpensive expense per vehicle.

I would have gladly paid the same amount FOR the camera and deleted the 19 inch alloy wheels for steelies with a hubcap, if it was a tossup for the money involved.

[Kris Clewell]

people die. accidents happen. Its not always preventable. I bet half the people that back over people wont even look at the stupid monitor.now you are just passing on the cost to EVERYone because of the tragedy that happened to .000001% of the population of which even a smaller portion was kids. Tragedy happens, death happens, its a part of life. Its the dark side of a contrast that makes life wonderful, and precious. You cant fix ignorance and lack of personal accountability with technology or regulation....

[setho]

NHTSA is reportedly employing a statistical cost of $6.1 million as the financial worth of a human life, this legislation is expected to cost between $11.8 million and $19.7 million per life saved.

[Kris Clewell]

NHTSA is reportedly employing a statistical cost of $6.1 million as the financial worth of a human life, this legislation is expected to cost between $11.8 million and $19.7 million per life saved.

People dont like boiling human lives down to statistics but, thats how things are, and thats effing ridiculous.

[Bill Simmeth]

Inattentive drivers will ignore monitors just as they do mirrors. Nothing is gained. Now, as suggested earlier, audible warnings from sensors will catch their attention, IMHO. If anything is mandated, it should be this.

[mrgreenjeans]

If anything is mandated in America, it should be a driver's qualification/ certification process that involves a driving school portion that is REAL and similar to European specification. Stringent. Involved. Drilled into the cerebellum or its a FAIL.

The folks that don't pass should be relegated to using public transportation. I am frankly tired of the level of ineptitude involving texting and driving, leaving children outside the car on the ground in line with a car's path, folks planting their right foot on the accelerator and driving backward and forward but thinking and looking in the opposite direction. Taking the Buick thru the back of the garage and into the pool out in the backyard. OR what just happened in Rochester, MN the other day : out thru the guide wires on an 8 story parking garage, left to dangle over the sidewalk.

Inattention. Lack of control. Lack of involvement in a serious endeavor called DRIVING.

Wake up and drive should be our mantra.

Accidents Do NOT need to happen at the frequency they do. That is NOT life. It is merely inexcusable behavior we have gotten used to. Tripe dished up on a china plate and swallowed whole with nodding approval because we have been told its Angus beef. Or dessert.

I am all for safety aids that work and are employed by an attentive driver. To not use a safety device when it's there for our use is like paying money for a 100 dollar meal and only eating the salad. Only with more dire consequence if not utilized......

[setho]

Sadly, I think this is a multi-billion dollar gift to the auto industry which will do nothing for safety in the end.

[Kris Clewell]

I posted this on another forum I am on to give some sort of context to how inane it is.

Do we want someone to feed you correct portions from a machine so you dont choke on something accidentally? thousands die from choking every year. Mostly kids. 180-200 of them are from popcorn. The mortality rate from eating popcorn and getting run over by a car backing up are pretty close. Should we ban popcorn? Should we invent a machine that makes popcorn non choking popcorn? Does this sound EFFING RIDICULOUS!?