AAA Discusses The Success With Using a Rear View Camera
WASHINGTON (WUSA9) -- AAA Mid-Atlantic officials say recent tests show that rear-view cameras in vehicles are helping to save lives. Backing collisions account for nearly one-quarter of crashes nationwide, however, the cameras can prevent them by allowing a driver to see behind the rear bumper and small objects in the car's blind spot.
According to AAA officials, rear-view cameras improved visibility an average of 46 percent in its recent tests. AAA researchers evaluated 17 vehicles from 11 manufacturers with factory-installed and aftermarket rear-view camera systems. They found increased visibility ranged from a 36 percent improvement in smaller sedans to a 75 percent improvement in hatchbacks with the cameras. Large trucks and sport utility vehicles scored in the mid-range of vehicles evaluated, according to officials.
The tests conducted with the Automobile Club of Southern California's Automotive Research Center also found that:
• The rear-view camera systems do not show all of the space behind the vehicle, so drivers should walk behind their vehicle to make sure there are no obstacles first and use the rear-view camera to confirm that nothing has entered the area after that inspection.
• Rain, snow or slush can cloud the rear-view camera lens, delivering blurry imagery so drivers may have to wipe the camera before driving.
• All of the systems tested met, and many exceeded, NHTSA's guideline for the minimum specifications for image quality.
"Rear-view cameras are a great supplement for drivers and are especially helpful for viewing the first 10 feet behind the vehicle, which are the most hazardous in terms of back-over risk for young children," said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic's Manager of Public and Government Affairs. "However, while these cameras dramatically improve rear visibility, they do not replace the need to check around your vehicle for obstacles before getting in to your vehicle and backing up."
More than 18,000 persons are injured each year in collisions from vehicles backing up. Children under five years old and adults 70 and older have an elevated risk of being backover victims compared to the rest of the population, according to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Children under five years old comprise almost half of the death toll in accidents involving a vehicle backing up, according to AAA.
Research also shows: "In the U.S. at least fifty children are being backed over by vehicles every week. Forty-eight (48) are treated in hospital emergency rooms and at least two (2) children are fatally injured every week."
Locally, two years ago a mother in Prince George's County, Md. accidentally backed her SUV into five children playing in her driveway, killing her 8-year-old daughter. AAA says that a parent or a close relative is the driver in over 70 percent of backover accidents.
Forty six percent of the 2014-model year vehicles sold in the United States came equipped with back-up camera systems, reports AAA. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires a rear-view image in all passenger vehicles beginning in 2016, with full compliance by May 2018.
"Rear-view cameras are a great supplement for drivers and are especially helpful for viewing the first 10 feet behind the vehicle, which are the most hazardous in terms of back-over risk for young children," said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic's Manager of Public and Government Affairs. "However, while these cameras dramatically improve rear visibility, they do not replace the need to check around your vehicle for obstacles before getting in to your vehicle and backing up."
"Rear-view cameras are a great supplement for drivers and are especially helpful for viewing the first 10 feet behind the vehicle, which are the most hazardous in terms of back-over risk for young children," said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic's Manager of Public and Government Affairs. "However, while these cameras dramatically improve rear visibility, they do not replace the need to check around your vehicle for obstacles before getting in to your vehicle and backing up.
Source: https://www.wusa9.com/story/life/2014/11/10/backup-cameras-car-crashes-aaa/18788925/
