New Law: Backup Cameras Now Required

Thursday, 31 May, 2018

There’s no going back once you buy a car with a backup camera. It made parallel parking and backing into a parking space so much easier. Plus, you’ll never have to worry about backing into the trashcan, or your kid’s tricycle, again while you’re leaving the house.

If you don’t know how you’d function without your faithful backup camera, there’s no need to worry. They are now legally required for every vehicle sold in the U.S. from now on.

On Wednesday, May 2, a federal regulation went into effect making it legally required to have a rearview camera and video display on new vehicles. This is to prevent traffic accidents, especially those involving pedestrians, who are oftentimes children.

In a 2010 report, the Department of Transportation (DOT) found that 15,000 people are injured and 210 people die in backup incidents each year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates up to 70 lives will be saved each year thanks to the new law.

This regulation is welcomed by traffic safety advocates.

“The regulation is a monumental advancement of safety for children, pedestrians, bicyclists and other vulnerable road users,” Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, said in a statement.

In 2008 Congress passed a law requiring regulators to install technology to enhance rear visibility.

The DOT announced plans for the backup camera law in 2014 but it went through a few years of delays before being passed this month. This gave automakers four years to get ready for the implementation of the law.

Display screens and backup cameras are pretty much standard equipment on vehicles these days. They are available equipment on every Kia vehicle we sell here at Landers Kia in Little Rock. From this year on, backup cameras and rearview displays will be standard on every new Kia we sell. We hope this will save lives as well as increase the visibility and safety of every driver on the road.

Categories : News

Tags : Touchscreen Display , Backup Camera , Car Laws