Fighting child runover accidents: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation have reached an agreement on a law that will require the installation of a backup camera in every new car starting May 1, 2018.
The law, which was created after a series of hit-and-run cases in which a toddler was hit by a car that was reversing, sometimes while it was being driven by a family member, is expected to save the lives of between 58 and 69 pedestrians a year in America, according to NHTSA estimates. This is out of the approximately 210 deaths each year currently in such accidents, which also cause about 15,000 injuries annually.
The law states that in every new vehicle weighing less than 4.5 tons, the manufacturer will be required to allow the driver full rear visibility in an area of three by six meters. Technologically, the only way this can be done is through a reversing camera and a display screen in the front console.
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
It should be noted that currently such a system is offered mainly in luxury cars, but in recent years it has become available in more and more popular cars - sometimes for an additional fee. Although the law does not directly affect Israel, it is expected to lead to more and more cars being offered with a camera here as well. In addition to cars imported from the US (about 31% of all cars in Israel), the change is expected to lead to manufacturers - who currently operate in the global market - also implementing the system in models outside the US.
The NHTSA estimates that the cost of a camera in a vehicle already equipped with a multimedia screen (another system that has become very common recently) is about $45 - about 157 shekels before taxes. This means that implementing the law will cost automakers at least $550 million (1.9 billion shekels), an amount that is expected to be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for all models.
