On Monday, 21 March 2014, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the final rule, “requiring rear visibility technology in all new vehicles under 10,000 pounds by May 2018.”¹ The oft-delayed ruling comes nearly two years after the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007 mandated the use of such cameras in 10% of new vehicles by 2012.² The mandate was suspended in 2012 when it was announced that the regulatory review was not completed.³

There is certainly a valid point to this legislation. According to the NHTSA Final Rule on the issue, the regulatory body pointed out some shocking statistics:

On average, there are 210 fatalities and 15,000 injuries per year caused by backover crashes. NHTSA has found that children under 5 years old account for 31 percent of backover fatalities each year, and adults 70 years of age and older account for 26 percent.⁴

Although this is certainly a step in the right direction, according to a Bloomberg report from 2012, it will be a costly one: “Assuming half those deaths can be averted by cameras, the rule would cost about $18.5 million per life saved, according to calculations by the safety agency. “⁵ Although the mandate requires that all new cars be equipped with rearview cameras by 2018, the majority of car manufacturers are heading in this direction already.