NHTSA to Require Back-Up Cameras by Mid-2018

Citing a growing outcry to prevent tragic accidents involving people – particularly young children – getting run over by reversing vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a proposal that it will be requiring all light vehicles to have “rear-view visibility systems” by May 2018. Cars, SUVs, trucks, and vans all fall under this proposal.

The NHTSA says that such a regulation has long been in the works; originally, the 2014 model year had been the target date for adoption for the requirement for such a rule, but it had been delayed numerous times by arguments over various details. The NHTSA regulation is a response to a Congressional law in 2010 requiring the Department of Transportation (which governs the NHTSA) to have such rear-visibility enhancing/backup warning systems on all new cars and light trucks installed in 2011.

According to a 2010 NHTSA report, there is an average of 210 fatalities and 15,000 injuries resulting from back-up accidents each year. Thirty-one percent of these fatalities are child deaths under age 5 and 26% are to adults over 75 years-old. DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx stated, “We are committed to protecting the most vulnerable victims of back-over accidents — our children and seniors.“

The NHTSA believes that adoption of the proposed regulation should be strong, if not absolute, by the 2018 deadline. The agency thinks that up to 73% of required vehicles will have the safety-enhancement systems installed by May 2018. It also thinks that the cost of fitting a complete system to vehicles that don’t have them should be around $132 to $142, while vehicles with an adequate screen installed will only incur a retrofitting cost of $43 to $45.

Various automakers, though, have already been preparing for such regulations from the DOT, since many of them have already been installing dash-mounted LCD screens and rear-facing cameras as either standard or optional equipment, even to their least expensive vehicles.