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All New Vehicles To Require Rearview Cameras by 2018

As an effort to reduce deaths and serious injuries caused by reversing accidents, the Transportation Department issued a rule that will require all new vehicles built from May 1st, 2018, that weigh under 10,000 pounds, to adopt rearview cameras. The government's decision also targets light trucks and buses, only motorcycles and trailers being exempt from it.
Hyundai ix35 Rearview Camera 1 photo
Photo: Hyundai
The bigwigs from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finally made the right decision, after eons of pressure from both drivers and pedestrians, to make rearview camera technology mandatory in order to significantly prevent accidents caused by lack of visibility in all reversing situations. All new rearview cameras must give the driver a 10-foot-by-20-foot (3-meters-by-6-meters) field of view directly behind the vehicle, NHTSA says.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement "We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable victims of back-over accidents - our children and seniors. We hope that today's rule will serve as a significant step toward reducing these tragic accidents." It's easy to understand why: children under five and elderly over 70 years of age account for more than half of fatalities related to reversing accidents in the U.S.A., according to an NHTSA report. Some 15,000 people are injured and circa 210 people die yearly after being hit in a back-over maneuver.

Even though some car companies have offered rearview camera systems for a long time now, it's a good thing this feature will become mandatory for all vehicles. Rear visibility requirements will most definitely make driving safer for everybody on the road.

Don't expect car prices to go up too much because of this new requirement. The agency's analists have estimated that this type of equipment would cost carmakers somewhere between $132 and $143 per vehicle. That's a small price to pay for something regarded as a luxury car feature not long ago.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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