NHTSA mandates rearview cameras for 2018 vehicles

[Rogue One]

Car backup cameras are now mandatory: Okay for saving lives, even better for music and navigation

The long-delayed rulemaking by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires “rear-view visibility systems” on all cars, SUVs, light trucks and vans. All vehicles built as of May 1, 2018 would have to have rear-view systems that show a 10 x 20-foot patch behind the car. It would ramp up starting with May 1, 2016 production. Currently there are 31,000 motor vehicle fatalities, 210 of them backup deaths. NHTSA estimates that by 2054 when all vehicles have backup systems, 58-69 lives would be saved. The initial proposal from 2010 took its time: From that point, NHTSA pushed back its rulemaking four times, to December 2011, to February 2012, to January 2015, until finally the near-final rules were announced April 1.

Read the full article here: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1796 ... navigation

Meanwhile, Nissan seems to be taking the lead on implementing the new standard.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yxHAj79kh8[/youtube]
Oh, yeah. It's being demoed in the new X-Trail (Rogue).

[Dattebayo]

SO I guess the human race has lost the ability to turn around and look where they're going? Or is it because they keep making cars with unnecessarily high rear ends?

[themadscientist]

My RX7 and GT-R both came equipped with rear vision navigation devices. They are called mirrors. Nannystate owns you!

[PapaSmurf2k3]

SO I guess the human race has lost the ability to turn around and look where they're going? Or is it because they keep making cars with unnecessarily high rear ends?

Mostly the latter. As cars become safer, belt lines get higher, C-pillars get thicker, rear seat headrests get bigger, etc. All these things add up to annoying blind spots. That being said, I don't really like the way current rear-view cameras work either. I tend to use both in unison when backing up a car with bad blind spots.

[float_6969]

All of this, yet I have been managing to back up and drive, 5-6 days a week for the last 10 years, over the course of 2 different vehicles, WITH NO REAR VIEW MIRROR WHATSOEVER, and not once have I killed anyone. ONCE, I backed into someone's car in a customer's driveway. They had parked so close to the rear of my box van, that when I got in to leave, I couldn't see it when I walked up, and I couldn't see it in my mirror's. I'm not sure a rear view mirror would have helped either, as the van was high. That ONE time, a rear view camera would have prevented the incident. The damage consisted of scrape on their bumper, me being annoyed, and the car owner being VERY apologetic after I explained to her that she might not want to park so close to large vehicles with poor rear visibility. Regardless, I know it was still my fault, and the company insurance paid for the repair to her vehicle. But in the scheme of things, I've backed up thousands of times in the last 10 years without a rearview mirror and had one accident. Why do we need another new law dictating the construction of vehicles? What kills me, is that if weren't for the new laws dictating how the cars are built in the first place, we wouldn't even NEED the camera's because visibility wouldn't be atrocious.

I guess I'm tired of government agencies passing laws to protect stupid people from being stupid. Why do we have this mentality that we need to prevent everything from happening. Pay attention, think, don't have an accident. Very simple. Honestly, how many accidents are truly unpreventable? Most are caused by being inattentive. So instead of fixing the problem, our government (like they often do) passes a law to make it safer for other people when you're inattentive....which to me, seems like would encourage more inattentiveness. Great idea.

[/rant]

[BusyBadger]

How about mandating a better education, testing & training program for drivers? How about more frequent eye exams, written tests and even road tests during the renewal process...especially for those groups that are statistically responsible for the bulk of the accidents? How about rather than being worried about emissions so much instituting an inspection program that gets vehicles that might not make to the next light off the road?

It's easy for the government to mandate safety when all they have to do is tell vehicle makers, stick a camera on it. But if the actions I listed took any effort on their part (which they do), would cost some money (which it would), cost some politicians some views (again, yes) but would also prove a real and lasting benefit to the overall driving experience in this country as well as save lives, well...you'll see that it's not really your safety the government is concerned with.

I'm all for a German-like fahrschule drivers training program here in the US.

[Bubba1]

It's a shame we Americans are eager for auto makers to keep on idiot proofing our cars with silly stuff like standard rearview cameras instead of simple mirrors mandating tougher driving standards which include using frigging mirrors And people wonder why cars are getting so expensive? I guess Woody Allen was right about the evolution of cars. It's disturbing that we're headed toward these...

[Looneybomber]

Great. Increase the base price of the car and add more items to eventually break.

[Rogue One]

All of this, yet I have been managing to back up and drive, 5-6 days a week for the last 10 years, over the course of 2 different vehicles, WITH NO REAR VIEW MIRROR WHATSOEVER, and not once have I killed anyone...[/rant]

Try harder!