DOT Proposes Rear View Visibility Rule to Protect Kids and the Elderly; measure would reduce backover deaths

As a parent, some things in life you never recover from.

Every year, nearly 300 people are killed and 18,000 more are injured when someone--often a parent or grandparent--backs over them. Nearly half of these deaths are young children under the age of five.

That's more than two kids killed per week. Over time, those numbers add up.

So today, as required by Congress, the Department of Transportation is proposing a new safety measure to help eliminate the blind spots behind passenger cars and other light vehicles that can lead to tragedy when a driver is reversing the vehicle. And I am proud that DOT is taking this step to prevent backover deaths and injuries.

No matter how skilled a driver you are, you can't avoid hitting what you can't see. By increasing your field of vision, this rule will save lives.

Courtesy ABC / Good Morning America

Today's proposal was mandated by The Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. This law directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a standard improving the ability of drivers to detect pedestrians in the area immediately behind their vehicles, minimizing the likelihood of a vehicle striking a pedestrian while reversing.

Two-year old Cameron Gulbransen was killed when his father accidentally struck him while backing his SUV in the family’s driveway.

It's difficult to imagine backing out of your garage or driveway and killing an undetected child playing behind your vehicle. But Greg Gulbransen, Cameron's father, is a pediatrician. And the fact that a professional, well-versed in the risks children face, was involved in a backover tragedy should give you an idea of how easy it is--no matter how carefully you look--to not see people directly behind your vehicle.

That's exactly what this measure seeks to prevent.

It's clear that we're talking about our most vulnerable neighbors and family members, so I hope we can all agree that helping prevent these deaths is the right thing to do.

To meet the new standards, NHTSA believes automobile manufacturers will install rear mounted video cameras and in-vehicle displays. Other solutions, such as mirrors or various sensors, have demonstrated very limited effectiveness and would not adequately address the safety problem or meet Congress’s mandate to improve safety.

Of course, drivers should remember that whatever safety technology emerges will only be effective when a driver responds to its warnings. As NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said, "No technology can take the place of your full attention and vigilance when backing up."

Courtesy msnbc.com

And, as with all of our proposed rulemakings, the public is invited to submit comments about this new measure.

We're trying to save lives, so I urge you not to remain on the sidelines during the 60-day public comment period. The proposal--and information about how to submit your comments--can be found at http://www.nhtsa.gov/Laws-Regs.

Comments

[Erik G.]

Of course if we had automatic liability laws like those in the Netherlands, where the vehicle that hits a pedestrian is always at fault, we might see more cautious motor vehicle operation in the first place, as well as active policy-holder-monitoring by the insurance companies.

Now will USDOT also be looking at the various regulations and economic stimulus created by the Federal Government, like the chicken-tariff and IRS deductions that encourage SUV production and sales over that of Sedans and the now-nearly-extinct Station Wagon?

The really sick irony about the 2 kids per week rate is that many SUVs are legally overweight for use away from truck routes (i.e. illegal on residential roads) in most states and municipalities.

[Bob]

While I'm all for safety, like lower speed limits (45-50mph) on interstates through urban areas, and strict enforcement of driving rules on the books, vehicles over-built for safety in crashes, this proposal seems like way above and beyond what laws and Federal requirements should be doing. I don't have kids. I don't need a back up camera as I drive a reasonably sized car where visibility is not an issue for me. I'm going to be penalized for the idiocy (buying ridiculously large vehicles with enormous blind spots) or inattentiveness (what law will we impose to make sure kids never dart out into the street, for instance? Will I have to stop at each and every house I drive past to check for "loose" kids?) of parents when it comes to taking care of their kids. Don't want anything to happen to your kids. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THEM AT ALL TIMES! What's a toddler doing crawling around your yard unsupervised anyway. That's the problem that should be addressed. What we're doing here is making everyone succumb to a problem caused by inattentive parents. Another symptom of our society (and that's a conversation for another day). And in all honesty, this forum doesn't even come close to allowing discussing all the issues that are being circumvented by this proposal.
While I support most of what you're doing, Mr. LaHood. I'm not on board with this one. I shouldn't be expected to change my life so others can live in excess and ignorance, to their own demise. I mean come on, people are dying or being injured because other people aren't taking responsibilities for their actions and decisions. I say let Natural Selection work this one.

[Idiots On Roads]

The idiots are taking over! Backup cameras to save 300 people per year at an expense of 3.0 billion and make them required. - NO WAY! Sorry for the doctors loss, maybe only HE NEEDS a backup camera...implanted. Why not FIX the in attentive driving epidemic.... choke on this "The NHTSA study found that rear impact car wrecks in 2005 accounted for 29.6% of U.S. car crashes. That percentage consisted of over 1,824,000 wrecks of a rear end nature. Surprisingly the study, states that rear end crashes only consist of 5.4 % of US fatal crashes." Now lets add in all the expenses incurred from these collisions and i'll guess it's in the 200 BILLION range!
Ray get a clue...or hit the road!

[Cary Mallon]

My daughters are aged 1 and 4. Today I will coach my 4 year old on how to watch for back up lights on vehicles. I've harped on her about watching and listening for cars when she's on her bike. Watching for turn signals is another strategy I've taught her, but drivers don't always use them. At least back up lights come on whenever the car is in reverse.

[dave]

I too am a parent but I don't see that another federal mandatory regulation will help. It's the same as the tire monitoring system just another bothersome piece of crap. Why? Because people do not take drivers ed like I did when it was required. The government can't protect people from themselves. Had it been my kid? Well guess I would have to live with it HUH? How a backup camera is going to do anything other than add more cost to a car and add jobs to make the components, say theres one for you how about you require they be made in USA ONLY!!!

[Mouhamad A. Naboulsi]

This is a real danger. Watching a father talks about the death of his 5 years old boy back in 2002 really drove me to tears. I do not believe that I could survive if I was in his place and we should've have done this much sooner.

I wish we can get this done faster and I wish the nay sayer will take a break and let people go about saving lives.

[jerry morgan]

This is one of those scenarios that is tough to face and I think that whatever decision is made technologically will take a long time to have circulate through the vehicles on the road. But at the end of the day just because it is tough doesn't mean we shouldn't do it . Thanks for the informative post.

[Fire Glass]

I think this would be a great law. I know myself have had a couple of close encounters before with animals or people walking behind me.

[me]

Do you really think that this will solve this problem? No, it will not. This is an issue that I am very familiar with. In May 1967, I was sitting in my parent's driveway. My Aunt got into her car and drove. She was mad at my Mother. I had a fractured skull. I was lucky enough to be living Chicago Hgts. I was pronounced dead. There were two causes for this accident. One is that I should not have been in the driveway. The second cause was that my Aunt did not check the back of her car before she got into it. If drivers checked to see what was going on around them, this would not happen as much. When I get in the car, I check to see what kids are playing in the area (lawns, street, and sidewalks). I walk behind my car to see if there are kids are there.

This is you trying to think you can control peoples lives. Drip! Drip! Drip! Drip! Eventually, people will catch on to what you are doing.

[Ron Melancon]

Ron J. Melancon President
www.dangeroustrailers.org
8898 Castle Point Drive
Glen Allen, VA 23060

804-837-0086

Dear Safety Concerned Advocate:

Over the past week our Government announced a groundbreaking new lifesaving measure which will help save lives. This initiative involved the hart work and dedication of Kids and Cars.org and the Gulbransen Family.

We note that this action is in the direct response of the data collected by the above mentioned organizations where we note these facts:

We have 250 Million Vehicles in the United States and 298 lives were lost and 18,000 injured....By Back Over Accidents and a goal was completed and by the year 2014 every new vehicle will include a mandated rear view camera.

Our organization has been collecting data on "Passenger Cars That Tow Trailers" for over 8 years and have been seen by an official at NHSTA and have made our concerns known with these facts.

We have almost 40 million Utility, Boat and Homemade trailers registered in the United States that caused 379 lives to be lost and over 20,810 Injuries just in 2009. Since 1975 over 15,525 lives have been lost and Since 1988 over 495,853 Injured by this class of vehicles.

With all things being equal and we had the same number of Vehicles as Trailers then our loss of life would be 2,400 verses 298 and Injuries 120,000 verses 18,000. We simply ask why no action has taken place with "Passenger Cars That Tow Trailers"

Just this month alone we note that a Father Lost His life in Washington by a "Loose Boat Trailer" and a 47 year old female lost her life this past week in California by a failure of "Every Safety System" when a power company's trailer snapped its chains.

In closing we simply ask who is preventing and we quote an insurance agent " I saw the pix and read your story and It really amazes me why there has not been any traction on this subject. We ask the same question to Ray LaHood.

Sincerely,

Ron J. Melancon

[Andy Alden]

My inside rear view mirror also badly blocks my view forward creating a very dangerous blind spot. Perhaps its time to mandate rear video systems in vehicles with intelligent placement of monitors.

[Bob]

The cost argument was made with Airbags, Seatbelts, etc.
Who would consider buying a car without them today?
Someday soon this will be standard equipment as well. On high rear deck vehicles, an early mandate would be a good idea and the install would cost about $20 in parts.
As they etch your sideview mirrors with "objects in mirror..." etch the rearview with the reminder to check for objects left behind the vehicle.

[J. Mearkle, P.E.]

Given that a recent car seat check in my town found that 149 out of 151 child car seats were improperly installed, I suspect a greater return on investment would be plug-and-play car seats. This would fulfill the promise that LATCH failed to fill.

FARS reports 1629 fatalities involving kids restrained in car seats in 2009. Granted, not all of these could be saved by better car seats, but many could. That should get higher priority.

[Backup Camera System]

This is definitely an issue worthy of attention. I can't imagine the horror and tragedy caused by accidentally killing your own child. And to those who say a backup camera wouldn't help increase visibility, they clearly have never used one, because they allow you to see below your rear window where you can't see normally. I'm not sure if a law making them mandatory is the right move, but all new cars should be outfitted with cameras in my opinion.

[Boat Insurance]

I agree with the making backup cameras more readily available. It is even more difficult to safely backup when maneuvering a large trailer or boat. But, it appears some of these systems can work for trailers. The safest way is to have someone outside the vehicle who can signal the driver properly.