Rear-view back up cameras, which can be used to eliminate the blind spot behind a vehicle, are expected to be become mandatory in all new automobiles come 2014. US federal regulators are expected to make an announcement later this week in which they intend on requiring automobile manufacturers to install rear view cameras in all passenger vehicles by 2014.
This decision comes after the realization that two children, on average, die every week after they’re run over by a vehicle in reverse. The drivers are essentially unaware of the child’s presence due to blind spots behind the vehicle which traditional rear-view mirrors don’t adequately account for.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed the mandate back in 2010 and is expected to issue their final version of the rule to Congress come Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the highway traffic agency declined to comment prior to the new rule being formally announced, however, the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington, Clarence Ditlow, was quoted by the New York Times saying :
“We haven’t done anything else to protect pedestrians. This is one thing we can do and should do.”
The rear view camera , much like air bags and the third brake light known as the Liddy Light, is just the latest in a long succession of government mandated car safety features.
Regulators believe that 95 to 112 deaths could be avoided each year through the elimination of the blind spot and that the rear view camera system is the best resolution currently available. Government statistics claim that over 228 people die after being backed over by a passenger vehicle. Of the 228 people who die every year, 44% of them are under the age of 5 years old which is why the inclusion of back up cameras in automobiles will save a great deal of emotional distress.
There are those who believe the mandatory rear-view camera is long overdue and that happens to include the founder of KidsAndCars.org, Jannette Fennell, who is quoted saying:
“We wouldn’t buy a car if we couldn’t see 30 or 40 feet going forward. We’re taking this big lethal weapon going in reverse and we can’t see.”
For more information on automobile safety for children, visit KidsAndCars.org as the nonprofit group is dedicated towards tracking tragic accidents involving kids and cars.
