NHTSA to Require Vehicles to Have Rear Visibility Technology

The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a rule Monday requiring all vehicles weighing 10,000 lbs. and below to have rear visibility technology. This is to prevent or lessen cases of backover accidents.

Backover accidents happen when a car is backing out of the parking lot or driveway and accidentally hits someone because the driver may not have seen them. It may cause injuries and death to the victims.

In the United States, backover accidents accounts for about 15,000 injuries and 210 deaths yearly. Among these deaths, 31 percent were kids aged five and below, while 26 percent were adults aged 70 and above.

"Safety is our highest priority, and we are committed to protecting the most vulnerable victims of backover accidents -- our children and seniors," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a press release.

To prevent such tragic incidents, the NHTSA passed a final rule that requires all vehicles weighing 10,000 lbs. and below, and manufactured May 2018 onwards to have rear visibility technology. The new technology is designed to aid the drivers of motor vehicles see areas and spots behind the vehicle clearly, thus, preventing injuries and deaths from backover accidents. It must give drivers a 10-foot by 20-foot view of the area behind the vehicle and must meet other requirements such as the image size, response time, linger time, durability, and deactivation.

"Rear visibility requirements will save lives, and will save many families from the heartache suffered after these tragic incidents occur," said NHTSA Acting Administrator David Friedman in a press release. "We're already recommending this kind of life-saving technology through our NCAP program and encouraging consumers to consider it when buying cars today."

The NHTSA expects to save 58 to 69 lives per year once all vehicles are equipped with the rear visibility technology.