Friday, December 3, 2010
Backing Up
U.S. auto-safety regulators proposed requiring backup cameras on all new vehicles by 2014 to prevent drivers from backing over pedestrians, a rule that may cost as much as $2.7 billion.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which published the proposed rule today, said an average of 292 people die each year from back-over accidents, which primarily kill children and the elderly.See more here
Do the math for the NHTSA.....
How much of other people's money do they want to spend? Only $163 per vehicle. Not too much added onto a $30-40K price tag, but that is for every car in US.
Last year there were 33,808 automobile fatalities. 292 were caused by backing improperly. That is .008637 of the total. Simplified, it equals less than 1% of the total.
To save all 292 lives, not only do we need 100% compliance, but we have to assume that the driver who didn't pay attention to the rear of his car is now going to look at a screen.
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Phil,
ReplyDeleteHere's a problem the free market can (and should) solve with NO HELP from the Federal government.
I was in Advance Auto and saw an aftermarket version of the device for well under $100.00. If a wee bit of genius is applied to marketing these things, the people who buy minivans and other poor visibility vehicles (giant SUVs) and drive near kids will buy them in a heartbeat. Naturally the car companies can market them as part of the accessory package.
I think the common sense issue here is that if people are backing up without looking behind them in the first place, what the heck is a camera going to do? Maybe people need to learn how to drive and back up safely !
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