NHTSA Proposes Standard Backup Cameras in All Vehicles By 2014
By Paul Seredynski December 7, 2010The U.S. Department of Transportation today issued a proposal to make backup cameras standard equipment in all vehicles by 2014.
The new regulation, released through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is aimed primarily at reducing blind zones behind vehicles that can obscure pedestrians.
Automakers already have an excellent headstart on this technology: Edmunds.com data shows the installation of factory-installed backup camera systems has been growing steadily since 2003, and already is standard or optionally available on 53.8 percent of all passenger vehicles sold in the U.S.
The proposed rule was required by Congress as part of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007. Two-year old Cameron Gulbransen, for whom the legislation is named, was killed when his father accidentally backed over him in the family's driveway.
"There is no more tragic accident than for a parent or caregiver to back out of a garage or driveway and kill or injure an undetected child playing behind the vehicle," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "The changes we are proposing today will help drivers see into those blind zones directly behind vehicles to make sure it is safe to back up."
The proposal would expand the required field of view for all passenger cars, pickup trucks, minivans, buses and low-speed vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 10,000 pounds so that drivers can see directly behind the vehicle when the vehicle's transmission is in reverse. NHTSA expects automakers will install rear-mounted video cameras and in-vehicle displays to meet the proposed standards.
To meet the requirements of the proposed rule, ten percent of new vehicles must comply by Sept. 2012, 40 percent by Sept. 2013 and 100 percent by Sept. 2014. Ford announced last week that nearly all its vehicles would meet the proposed standard by the end of 2011.
NHTSA estimates that, on average, 292 fatalities and 18,000 injuries occur each year as a result of back-over crashes involving all vehicles. Of these, 228 fatalities involve light vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less. Two particularly vulnerable populations - children and the elderly -- are affected most.
Approximately 44 percent of fatalities involving light vehicles are children under five-an unusually high percentage for any particular type of crash. In addition, 33 percent of fatalities involving light vehicles are elderly people 70 years of age or older.
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