Posted on 12/05/2010 1:52:45 AM PST by GraceG
The federal government wants automakers to install back-up cameras in all new vehicles starting in late 2014.
The plan, announced Friday, received a strong endorsement from insurance industry and other analysts and is likely to get some level of support from car manufacturers.
"There is no more tragic accident than for a parent or caregiver to back out of a garage or driveway and kill or injure an undetected child playing behind the vehicle," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. "The changes we are proposing today will help drivers see into those blind zones directly behind vehicles to make sure it is safe to back up."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
You go tell her that.
Well, it sounds like a nice little feature. Personally, I don’t want to pay for it, and the government has no business forcing me to have it. If we don’t stand up to these unelected bureaucrats, pretty soon they’ll load so many forced “safety” features on cars, they’ll be impossible for a normal person to buy.
Mandatory?! I disagree with that.
But, I do want one on our van. Backing out of my driveway on a school morning can be tricky with the kids running behind my car to get to the bus stop. There are some after market ones for a pretty good price out there.
Great now I can watch where I have been instead of where I am going.
I agree it should be optional but it should not be discounted as something useless and bad. Cars and trucks today are so loaded up with special features that come grouped in packages so if you want something like leather seats, all this other stuff comes with it. I suppose you could order a car with just the stuff you want but I don’t know that for sure.
“Where I have a problem is when our legislation and regulatory rule makers decide our behavior is illegitimate any time they entertain a seemingly good idea.
They decrease our freedom with every such regulation.”
That’s what I meant by “control”.
GNTX up 4% on Friday
“If the car you buy has a rear view camera and you don’t like feeling controlled, there is a button on the dash, turn it off.”
That doesn’t have anything to do with my subject. The subject is government control of the people and the pretty words they use to cover it.
I miss my father's old, mint 1956 Chevy 3100 that he picked up for a song in the 80's. It was like sitting in a fishbowl - the view was so panoramic.
“Why cars are expensive.”
[Remember when you could order a car with any of 7 motor transmission choices. The windows cranked down and you had rubber mats on the floor. When you opened the hood you couls see the ground beneath and all of the spark plugs?]
That’s why I bought and am reconditioning a ‘57 Bel Air. I can repair almost anything on her for much cheaper. I can afford to customize it to the hilt. It’s value will go up with time and it is paid for. Plenty of room and panorama windos. No smog test. I’m tired of fixing newer cars.
An option—but NOT mandatory.
They re very expensive & the cost of a new car now is atrocious.
I started driving when I was almost 15. Now 71. Have driven over 1,000,000 miles & I am not a commercial driver nor a saleman.
I have hauled horse trailers , with horses inside, for over 25 years. I have hauled 1 or 2 or 3 dogs with me, which also had to be kept track of.
I have hauled cars on open trailers & closed trailers.
I have had 3 moving violation tickets in all those years and one ‘accident’—in 1965. Someone opened the rear door of a car as I was pulling out with a race car on an open trailer. I hit their car door with the RF of the trailer—but I was charged. Technically, they opened their door into traffic—but I had to use my insurance.
I have never hit a person, nor a child.
Don’t consider myself ‘lucky’—I am careful to be sure that everything is buttoned up, horses are on their trailer ties, & all dogs are aboard.
I would not buy a new vehicle if I HAD to buy this camera. I won’t buy anything with “Onstar”, either. I like maps & my own brain.
Mark
Auto insurance companies basically became de facto government agencies once they were put in the completely untenable situation where: (1) auto insurance was mandatory; (2) the insurance industry was forced to accept high-risk drivers through government mandates; (3) these same insurance companies were subject to continuous pressure from government to make their rates "affordable"; and (4) no-fault insurance basically removed a huge incentive for motorists to drive safely.
At one point in my home state, the insurance industry was so alarmed at the untenable situation in which it found itself due to these four factors that it determined the only feasible way for the auto insurance companies to survive would be to have the insurance industry oversee the process of licensing drivers. Just think about that for a second.
Some vehicles (minivans) need these cameras due to the design of the vehicle. The manufacturers are already supplying them for these vehicles. For very small vehicles it really doesn’t make much sense. In addition, all of these safety features price people out of being able to buy a new car.
Sonar, actually, and there are cars with "obstacle warning sensors" and you can identify them by seeing rear bumpers with little disks on them.
I don't know if I agree with making the back up cameras mandatory, but they should certainly be optional. But the problem with mandatory safety features is that only the safest drivers to begin with will order them. Plus, only by putting them in every car will the cost drop dramatically enough to bring the cost way down for the rest of the public.
I know that I've bumped into things behind me when they were too low to see over the trunk lid.
Mark
Also you can drive it with no seat belts if you wish to. Historic tags are cheaper than regular tags.Parts are readily available for Chey and Ford restorations.
Some 57’s had air conditioning, power steering ,power brakes and a bulletproof powerglide transmission.
That car should get you 23 mpg if you drive it right and that isn’t bad mileage.
If well taken care of you can sell it for more than you paid for it.
Really great cars can be found at Carlisle’s Car corral in the spring.
And you think another bit of technology is going to change that?
They'll now be distracted from actually looking around, and the complaint will be "it wasn't in the view of the camera".
This is just another technological distraction. It might be useful for panel vans and other vehicles with obstructed views, but will be a detriment on hatchbacks and snall cars that have pretty good visibility, if you actually take time to make use of it.
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