Feds Seek Rear-Camera Law (backup cameras)

[DainBramaged]

Safety agency wants all cars and trucks equipped with backup cameras by 2014.


Rearview cameras could become standard equipment for all cars and trucks by 2014, if a new proposal by the federal Department of Transportation makes its way into law.

The DOT is expected to require that all vehicles make available to drivers an unobstructed 180-degree rear view of their car's surroundings when the car is in reverse gear. Given the hard points of today's vehicles, the rule would essentially require standard rearview cameras like those embedded in rearview mirrors or those that display inside a navigation-system screen.

The DOT's vehicle-safety agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, says that nearly 300 people die each year as a result of backup accidents. NHTSA also attributes 18,000 injuries to the scenario, pointing out that children and elderly pedestrians are in the highest-risk group for backup accidents.

Underscoring the move, Consumer Reports today issued a report from its test of blind-spot zones on vehicles. By placing a toddler-height cone behind different vehicles and at different distances behind the vehicle, the publication found that blind spots on SUVs are particularly troubling, while those of small sports cars are better for preventing backup accidents.

http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/autos-feds-seek-rear-camera-law/

[Warpy]

1. Trucks, yes, including road hog SUVs and momvans

Little cars like my Kia econobox don't really need them.

[DainBramaged]

6. Did you even read the snippet above?

:eyes:


Woman at the bank TODAY backed her car into a Chrysler Crossfire because she didn't see it driving behind her. Her, big something or the other, him small sports car. And she didn't have a truck or suv. Could have been an old impala or Chrysler 300.

[Warpy]

11. Did you?

No one is suggesting retrofitting the old land barges out there, only new vehicles.

Again, the large vehicles need them. Little economy models don't.

[taterguy]

2. Not very useful for people who aren't paying attention in the first place

Yes, I'm still pissed off at the person who backed into me a year ago.

That klutz interrupted a very important phone call as I was on my way to work.

[Archae]

3. For some vehicles it should be mandatory.

Like trucks and vans.

My Mom's Chrysler minivan has one.

[laundry_queen]

4. I don't have a camera

But I do have a sensor. It has come in handy in parking lots before.

I'm all for the cameras - there were a couple of 2 year olds killed in the city where I am, both within a couple of weeks of each other. Both backed over by their parents (not sure of the vehicles). I cannot imagine the hell that would be.

[RamboLiberal]

5. Earlier thread on GD

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9683312#9684130

[DainBramaged]

7. I ignore whoever that is, therefore I have no idea and didn't see it

gonna get this one locked?

:eyes:


(Why people on ignore have to draw attention to themselves is not suprising but sad).

[-..__...]

8. Better yet...

merged with the thread of the poster you have on ignore (:evilgrin:), and you won't be able to read the responses to this one.

Kind'a has a "Twilight Zone" feel to it.

[pacalo]

9. Ignore.

(Just kidding!)

:rofl:

[HopeHoops]

10. Most people don't pay attention to what is IN FRONT of the car.

What with yacking on the phone, texting, and watching a DVD in the visor screen, where's the time to watch the road?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

12. I have one...

...at the time I bought my current vehicle, I was living in an apartment complex that was crawling with kids. One time this guy was out walking and his kid, maybe aged 3 or 4, who knows...a LITTLE kid...ran directly out in front of an oncoming car and the guy just kept strolling along in his leisurely gate with no change of expression, no word of warning to the kid...in short, the parents seldom corrected or protected the kids on any level, they had reverted to their feral states, and I didn't want to hit them while backing up at 1 mile per hour. So I paid the extra money and had a back-up camera installed. The only downside...and cameras may have improved since 2003, when I bought my car...is that just like the rear view mirrors, depth perception is not reliable. But you CAN see a kid darting out in front of you. I lived in a townhouse several years ago and the older kids LOVED to whiz up and down the driveway, very close to the garages, and they NEVER looked out for cars backing out.