Study shows rear camera benefits
A recent study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), revealed just how beneficial rear cameras can be in vehicles. The study also showed that rear cameras are more beneficial than parking sensors when it comes to back over crashes with pedestrians. Nearly 300 people are killed and 18,000 and injured every year by drivers backing into them. The accidents usually occur in driveways and parking lots. Young children and elderly are typically the most likely to be killed in an accident of this nature.
“Right now cameras appear to be the most promising technology for addressing this particular tragic type of crash, which frequently claims the lives of young children in the driveways of their own homes,” David Zuby, IIHS’s vice president and chief research officer shared. Due to the fact that vehicles have large blind zones, many drivers cannot see objects behind the rear bumper, especially if the object is shorter than the back mirror.
The study included 21 vehicles, all 2010-2013 models. With no added technology such as cameras or sensors, large SUVs did the worst with rear visibility. Smaller cars without added technology did slightly better than SUVs. Vehicles with backup cameras reduced the blind zone by about 90 percent on average. Vehicles with both sensors and cameras did not fare as well, and vehicles with just sensors had a small added benefit. It appeared as though vehicles which had both technologies, that the drivers had more confidence and did not use the camera as much. If the sensor had a larger range or an earlier warning, it may have provided more benefit.
The research stems from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s interest on whether to require rear cameras on all passenger vehicles. In 2008, Congress requested the agency expand the required field of view on the back of vehicles. NHTSA feels that rear cameras are the only technology that could meet the mandate. Although they have not required the cameras on vehicles yet, they are on the list of recommended features in vehicles safety ratings.
For more information on the study you can visit IIHS’s site.
Source: IIHS