Posted on 05/02/2018 12:09:36 PM PDT by BBell
All newly manufactured vehicles to be sold in the U.S. are required as of Tuesday to have backup cameras equipped as a standard feature.
Advocates for the rule, which was mandated by the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency in 2014, hope today’s milestone will lead to fewer instances of drivers backing into people due to a lack of visibility.
“This day is so important because we don’t have a choice” when it comes to children’s safety around cars, said Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org, an advocacy group that works to prevent accidents involving children and motor vehicles. “This measure will save countless lives, especially of children.”
Congress passed the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act in 2008. The bill, signed into law by then-President George W. Bush, ordered NHTSA to issue by 2011 a standard for improving drivers’ ability to detect pedestrians behind their vehicles.
NHTSA’s proposed standard was stalled for several years in the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, according to a Reuters. It wasn’t until March 2014, when a coalition of advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation (of which NHTSA is a part), that a rule was issued, with a May 1, 2018, deadline for full implementation.
Today was 16 years in the making for Dr. Greg Gulbransen, who in 2002 accidentally backed over and killed his 2-year-old son Cameron, the namesake of the bill Congress enacted.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
”From the accepted doctrine that the United States is a government of delegated powers, it follows that those not expressly granted, or reasonably to be implied from such as are conferred, are reserved to the states, or to the people. To forestall any suggestion to the contrary, the Tenth Amendment was adopted. The same proposition, otherwise stated, is that powers not granted are prohibited [emphasis added].” —United States v. Butler, 1936.
”I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” —James Madison, Speech at the Virginia Convention to ratify the Federal Constitution (1788-06-06)
”To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition.” —Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson's Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank : 1791
”The system of the General Government is to seize all doubtful ground. We must join in the scramble, or get nothing. Where first occupancy is to give right, he who lies still loses all.” —Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe, 1797.
"In every event, I would rather construe so narrowly as to oblige the nation to amend, and thus declare what powers they would agree to yield, than too broadly, and indeed, so broadly as to enable the executive and the Senate to do things which the Constitution forbids." —Thomas Jefferson: The Anas, 1793.
Last couple of days my F150's been in the shop and I'm driving a Hyundia Tucson rental. Really a decent little ride, with basic conveniences and a backup camera. I find it helpful.
Is it FedGov's place to make it mandatory? You guys argue over it. I'm going to put aftermarket ones in both of ours.
When I used the camera in my sisters car the screen was small to be useful. Only buy used cars so sometimes they come with things I wouldn’t get by choice like my C-Max. This car has a large screen for the camera and I find the system very useful.
I live on a Cul-de-sac and there is a large herd of young kids all under 10 that live in the same neighborhood. I was backing out of my driveway one day while almost all the herd was playing in and around the Cul-de-sac. Being carefully trained by their parents to watch out for cars all of them stopped playing moved out of the way of my car. Most of them were holding up one hand to warn the others and waving me back with the other including a little girl about 3 years old. Life isn’t complete till you have a three year old careful guide you out of your driveway. She had a very serious look on her face.
Dash cams in all cars are nest. Not a bad investment now.
Many new cars (most) now also have running lights that are on all the time. My Accord lights are actually so bright they can fool me that the headlights are on.
Yea i rely on the tiny screen while backing up.
I’ll stick with my eyes and mirrors as usual thank you..
My point is, the technology is here now, and it’s cheap. Especially at point of manufacturing.
I’d love to go back to no electronics personally, but that aint happening.
Dumb people will always cause problems. I use both options. I look around, and use the cameras.
When you go buy that 10 year old dodge and the camera don’t work and the inspection station fails you...
Add that price to all the other electrical crap that is broken and the used car market is in for a surprise...
Be careful with this. When you reset the Check Engine Light (CEL), there are internal monitors which also reset. They may have to return a status code of READY for an inspection to pass (true in Texas). So after resetting the CEL, you may have to drive for 20-30 miles (complete a drive cycle) to get the monitors to a state where their value is acceptable.
That misses the point I was making.
Did not happen.
I rented a new camaro on a business trip, not my choice, it’s all they had left. It was like driving a bunker with a tiny slit of a windshield, tiny rearview mirrors, all blind spot, an absolute nightmare to maneuver. Sure they look cool but the visibility is so bad I wonder how they were ever certified for normal street use.
My new car has cameras all around it. I still don’t use them and turn my head to look. My daughter on the other hand uses them exclusively and probably couldn’t drive without them.
No. I get it. And I agree with it wholeheartedly.
The government should stick to:
-Standing Army
-Infrastructure
-Post Office (it’s in the Constitution)
That’s about it. In the world of government intrusion, this is minor, and the camera’s are handy.
Backup cameras are just another expensive bauble. When we bought our first vehicle with a backup camera in 2015 because my wife had to have it, I asked the insurance company if we would get some kind of discount. They laughed. I learned why the first night after we picked up the new truck and the wife promptly backed it over a curb and almost got stuck.
While I wouldn't push for it, the rear cross traffic warning systems can be helpful - especially in busy parking lots where you have to back halfway out before you can see if anything is coming.
These cameras are very beneficial on top of your preexisting skills.
My concern is that modern neckbearded wastrels will use this technology IN PLACE OF skills.
My 6 yr old daughter and I have great fun seeing how close I can get to my wife’s car before hitting it every day. I can easily get to within one inch of her bumper, just about every time, without contacting it.
The lens is fisheye so at the bottom of the screen it looks straight down to my bumper.
I too have a Taco, 2013, and specifically did not want the camera but was forced to accept it as part of the package, and now I can not do without it.
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