NHTSA ready to submit rearview camera mandate to Congress [UPDATE]

Chris Shunk — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:34:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Technology

About 100 children and over 200 adults die every year because drivers accidentally back over them. It's a sad statistic that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration feels can be prevented if all new vehicles come standard with backup cameras.

The New York Times reports that NHTSA plans to announce this week that rearview cameras will be mandatory on all vehicles by 2014. The compulsory cameras and interface for viewing what the camera sees is estimated to set new car buyers back an additional $160 to $200, but the government feels the cost is worth it if it prevents some of the 17,000 Americans that are harmed in backup accidents every year.

Clarence Ditlow, director for the Washington-based Center for Auto Safety, tells The New York Times that while the government acknowledges that in terms of pure numbers, the cost of the program is high and the amount of lives saved is small compared to some other safety implementations. But those numbers look a lot more doable when considering how devastating roll-over deaths are to families. "When you have a parent that kills a child in an incident that's utterly avoidable, they don't ever forget it."

What do you think, should rearview cameras become legally required? Have your say in Comments.

UPDATE: Ward's Auto reports NHTSA has delayed submitting its recommendation to Congress, likely to hold more discussions to hear and address concerns from the auto industry.

NHTSA ready to submit rearview camera mandate to Congress [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Check Your Rear: NHTSA compiles backup death statistics

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:58:00 EST

Filed under: Safety, Technology

Technology has brought about a great deal of advancements in new vehicles over the last few years. There are some electric nanny aids that many of us do without, but there are others, like rear backup cameras and warning systems, that proponents suggest could save lives. How many? If the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's new findings are any indication, quite a few. In 2007 alone, 221 people were killed when vehicles backed up over them, and 99 of those were children under the age of 14. A total of 14,000 (including 2,000 children) were injured in the same manner.

This new data has been made available by NHTSA in accordance with legislation that was passed last year that will mandate a reduction in vehicle blind spots via additional mirrors, cameras or sensors, as well as brake interlock systems that won't allow cars to shift out of park without the application of the brakes. For a summary of vehicle safety data, click here for the NHTSA's most recent set of reports.

[Source: AP via Google]

Check Your Rear: NHTSA compiles backup death statistics originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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