The Department of Transportation plans to make rear-view cameras standard for all vehicles by 2014 to prevent children being backed over. Each year, hundreds of children are hospitalized after being hit by cars backing up, and every week at least 50 children are reportedly backed over by vehicles in the U.S.
The regulation, which was proposed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), would expand the required field of view for all passenger cars, pickup trucks, minivans, buses and low-speed vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 10,000 pounds so that drivers can see directly behind the vehicle when the vehicle’s transmission is in reverse. NHTSA believes automobile manufacturers will install rear mounted video cameras and in-vehicle displays to meet the proposed standards.
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