All About Japan Autos

Many of today’s cars are designed to maximize fuel efficiency and to protect vehicle occupants in the event of a crash. Unfortunately, the same designs that allow a car to slice through the air and safeguard passengers can reduce outward visibility, especially to the rear. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is proposing a new rule to help change that.

The goal is to “help eliminate blind zones behind vehicles that can hide the presence of pedestrians, especially young children and the elderly,” writes DOT. “The proposed rule was required by Congress as part of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007. Two-year old Cameron Gulbransen, for whom the Act is named, was killed when his father accidentally backed over him in the family’s driveway.” According to the National Highway Traffic Safety administration, back over crashes result in 292 fatalities and 18,000 injuries each year. Children and the elderly are the groups most likely to be hurt.

The proposal calls “for all cars, pickup trucks, minivans, buses, and low-speed vehicles to be equipped with a backup camera by 2014,” and “would require all passenger vehicles to have ‘a 180-degree view’ of the rear vehicle,” reports Pickuptrucks.com.

If you’ve every tried parallel parking an SUV, or had the frustrating experience of backing over a garden tool or a toy left in your driveway, you know how useful rearview cameras can be. But don’t expect one to come free on your next new car. The Los Angeles Times reports, “To meet the requirements of the proposed rule, 10% of new vehicles must comply by September 2012, 40% by September 2013 and 100% by September 2014,” so the cameras will be phased in slowly if the proposal becomes law.

Some worry that if the proposal passes, consumers could be the ones who end up paying. “Rearview cameras simply allow for a better picture of what’s going on behind your vehicle, and with rollover standards and the increasing size of vehicles, rearward visibility in new vehicles seems to be getting worse, not better,” says Autoblog. “Still, if NHTSA’s proposal becomes law, there will be added cost passed on to consumers. Most luxury vehicles are already equipped with this technology – particularly those with navigation systems – but even if the systems aren’t that expensive for automakers to install, they’re likely to have a disproportionate impact on the MSRPs of inexpensive models.”

We’ll keep you posted on the progress of this proposal, and any impact it may have on your bottom line. In the market for a new car? Check out the U.S. News rankings of this year’s best cars as well as this month’s best car deals. Also, be sure to check us out on Twitter.