New Regulation to Mandate Rearview Mirrors in Vehicles

The Federal government delayed a rule last week, requiring rearview cameras be installed in all new vehicles. The rule is expected to be complete by the end of this year.

According to the New York Times, a 2008 law called on regulators to set new rear visibility standards by February 28, 2011. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has already extended that deadline several times.

LaHood said the reason for the delay is due to further study and data analysis so that the rule will be as protective and efficient as possible. He expects to issue the final rule by Dec. 31, 2012. 

The original proposal called on car companies to install rearview cameras in all new cars by 2014. 

The mandate is part of a car safety reform bill named for Cameron Gulbransen. He was two years old when an SUV backing up ran him over in his own driveway about ten years ago. The driver was his father, Greg Gulbransen. 

According to a CBS News article, drivers killed 448 children in backing-up accidents between 2006 and 2010. That number is more than double the number for the previous five years. 

The same article discusses different blind spots, saying even a small SUV has a big blind spot. A whole stroller could hide in some of these blind spots, but a rearview camera would help catch that. 

According to Fox News, in a draft paper regulators said it would cost automakers between $160 and $200 to install the cameras and screens. Overall, this could cost as much as $2.7 billion per year.

CBS News says rearview cameras are already a standard on 45 percent of 2012 passenger vehicles. 

Annually, backing-up accidents cause about 228 deaths, the government says. Eliminating the rear blind spot by using a rearview camera could cut that number in half.

Photo by leah.jones