Because US drivers apparently can’t back up, the Federal government is mandating all cars sold by 2018 have back-up cameras standard. Good, bad, stupid? Let us know in the comments. WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today issued a final rule requiring rear visibility technology in all new […] More...
Well, they're removing dipsticks so I guess now they can remove mirrors. Steering wheels being replaced with joysticks is probably next. (Off soapbox now, going to bed to let my meds kick in)
Silly government. They must feel that the rate people are backing up and killing children proves a lot of people don't know how to drive and something needs to be done about it.
According to NHTSA, the cost of the new rule will be between $546 and $640 million the first year - to potentially save 58 to 69 lives per year - at best, that's $7.9 million per person if all accidents are avoided! How much do you want to pay for the stupidity and carelessness of a handful of people? And how many decades will it take to purge all the older vehicles under 10,000 pounds without the backup cameras off the roads? Enough is enough! :incazzato:
The figure I heard on Brian Williams national news tonight was over 200 children. I assume that doesn't take in the number of adults that might be killed and I'm guessing that there are a number of children and adults who aren't killed but rather injured. There are a lot of idiot people driving cars today and it's unfortunate we all have to pay because of their neglect.
As one who's worked at least three run over incidents, I can say with relative certainty that nearly all of these can be prevented if a driver would simply walk a circle around their car before they drive off... I'll also echo the idiot driver sentiment. On a lighter note, I think the backup cameras are kinda cool. The older I get, the more I'm convinced I need a tool to help me see back there.
I installed the OEM rear view camera on my R52, and I love it so much that I'll probably have a rear camera on every car I own from now on. But that's me. I'm still not so sure about requiring every new car to have one. In San Francisco, it can be difficult to find parking even in a MINI, and the rear camera allows me to confidently squeeze into very tight spaces with great precision. That's parallel parking, but the rear camera is very useful even in parking lots. I may find myself parked next to an SUV or minivan that blocks my view, but as I back out the camera still allows me to see if any cars are coming.
On a car like a MINI it seems odd, on an SUV it is a good idea. If it keeps one little kid from being run over & killed it is money well spent in my opinion. More mandated nanny's. This one I'm OK with. Shocking isn't it?
The sensors with a warning beeper would be better and cheaper. People will ignore the cameras eventually. Or the opposite, they will rely on them so much they'll stop looking.
Replace Side Mirrors With Video Cameras? Tesla, Carmaker Group Ask Feds For OK Using cameras for side mirrors isn't a new concept--manufacturers have been fitting them to concept vehicles for decades. But when it comes to road use, laws all around the world require proper mirrors, with no loopholes available for camera and screen-based systems. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is currently seeking approval to overturn current U.S. regulations on mirrors, says Automotive News, allowing it to fit more aerodynamic camera-based systems--such as those found on the original Model X crossover concept. As car manufacturers seek greater efficiency from their vehicles, many are turning to aerodynamics--making their cars slip through the air with greater ease. Unfortunately, traditional car mirrors are necessarily large and bulky, not only housing the mirror itself but also electronics to power it and sometimes turn signal repeaters, too. This lump of plastic and metal can cause surprising amounts of drag on an otherwise smooth car body--as well as causing some of the wind noise you hear when driving down the highway. Camera units can be made much smaller and more streamlined, or even mounted nearly flush with the body--vastly reducing that aerodynamic drag. One company using the latter technique is Volkswagen with its XL1 diesel plug-in hybrid. Two small bumps in the body with cameras mounted behind are all that's needed to relay pictures to two screens inside the car--just below the area you'd normally look to check your mirrors. Tesla and the 12-member Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has filed a petition to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asking it to okay the use of camera-based mirrors, on grounds of improving fuel efficiency without compromising safety. The petition comes as the NHTSA declares that all new cars, minivans, SUVs and pickups weighing under 10,000 pounds must be fitted with a standard backup camera by 2018. The move is designed to prevent injuries and fatalities caused by vehicles backing up as people--often children or the elderly--walk behind.
Pure BS IMO. I installed a backup camera on my Suburban 2500HD and after the novelty wore off, all I use it for is to watch the ball on the bumper hitch when hooking up my cooker. Trying to replace the human brain and common sense with technology. I can hear it now... "it's not my fault! the beeper never went off so I never looked at the camera". Just getting weary of mandated "crap"!
No amount of tech can replace good training. It's time we take driving seriously in this country. Instead of all this nanny crap how about mandate real driver training. Not this crap we call drivers ed taught by people that don't know sh1t from shinola! In avaition we have all sorts of systems to keep us out of trouble. The company's started pushing reliance on this equipment. What was found is that it can be just as bad as not having it. I'm an instructor, the first thing I tell pilots when they check out on the aircraft is no system can replace them. One well trains pilot is worth more then all the tech we have. It's the same for drivers. One good driver is worth more then all the safety devices we stuff in cars. Look if your too lazy to turn your head and really look, or use your mirrors then a back up camera isn't going to help.
If you haven't, but I'll bet you did, read 'Fate Is The Hunter' by Gann then you should. Every pilot in training should read it. In it he lays out in graphic detail the true zen of motor vehicle operations. If people operated automobiles with that kind of mind set, wrecking companies would go out of business...almost.
Playing the part of the devils advocate, you can train pilots all you want but you can't eliminate the human factor. I recall a collision over San Diego back in the '70s that was attributed to a little 'nonsense' in the cockpit.
I agree that many drivers will become complacent & blame their camera or dirty lens for backing into some thing or worse yet someone. Yes driver training is a joke in the US. Look around when you are out driving & you'll see the utter lack of commitment to good driving. On the phone, sending a text even reading a book while they wander down the road oblivious to those around them. Mandating better driver training would work, but the powers that be will never do it. Enforcing laws already on the books would do a lot of good too. That ain't happening either. All the distracting tech that is being bundled into cars now is not a good thing, yet most folks have no problem with it & will pay good money to have those distractions. Yet many complain about back up cameras? They will not distract drivers & may help some drivers who need it. Remember the reason for this is people backing over kids. Yes I know they should watch their kids, but some don't & kids haven't a clue. Seems there should be a standard of sight lines. If there were only SUVs & trucks would need cameras. There will never be agreement to any of this. :deadhorse:
The back-up camera in my R52 is used at some point during essentially every car trip. As I said before, I really love it.