Over 200 deaths and 15,000 injuries related to backing up. Unfortunately we haven't been able to weed out stupidity in drivers, so everybody pays for it.
Being that you can buy aftermarket back-up cameras for $50 to $100, it shouldn't add to much to the cost, We'll see.
Yea... The OP is missing....
Apparently that happened while I was typing my response... Stupid internets.
In reply to Cone_Junkie: Sorry went to edit and deleted see above
Cone_Junkie wrote: Over 200 deaths and 15,000 injuries related to backing up.
Into the highway? WTF?
Yeah....no reason to improve driver's education....or even require it. Let's just make all vehicles all-knowing and all-seeing. And we wonder why it's hard to find a car under 3000 lbs. 
It ain't rocket science. If you want safer roads--- teach people how to drive. If the stooges who run things would take driver ed seriously, they could save far more lives than back-up cameras ever could. Our roads are filled with incompetent drivers who are now more distracted than ever before. But I'm sure adding another T.V. screen in front of the driver will fix that..........grrrrrrrr
stupid double post....
On the other hand, even with safe drivers, there's an area behind the car that you can't see. Unless you get out of the car and look while you are backing up.
The best driver training isn't going to eliminate blind spots. Ones that you can't see regardless of how you twist your body and look at mirrors. Ones that back up cameras will be able to ADD to your vision.
But if we want to continue the illusion that everyone else on the road are morons, including you, except for me. (and I mean that when you say it, each, to yourself)
Having driven a bunch of cars WITH back up cameras, I think this is a good idea. Besides, when hooking up to a trailer, the cameras rock in a big, big way.
The annoying thing is that this is needed in part because previous safety standards and mileage demands have reduced rear visibility on newer cars.
This became painfully obvious when helping my father and his girlfriend shop for a new car. She's blind in one eye and due to that, has to have excellent visibility, especially to the rear and so many of the cars have huge rear pillars and small windows and headrests that stick up too high. Even my wife became annoyed while looking at the same cars as potential replacements for her 01 Highlander and found the lack of visibility in quite a few cars and she doesn't have any depth perception issues, just perhaps some height issues to contend with.
After sorting the list of cars/CUVs, they got down to the 500L, the Mazda 3 and the Jetta Wagon. Finally settling on the Jetta wagon.
Considering the lack of driver training that is prevalent in today's society, I suspect this solution will be ignored as most drivers refuse to even properly aim their mirrors, let alone look over their shoulders when changing lanes or backing up. I mean, how many people can even merge successfully? The engineers come up with a new solution to counter the fools and they just keep creating better fools.
In reply to turboswede:
As far as I can tell, the 1967 pick up that we had, I could not see beyond the lift gate. That hasn't changed.
And I seem to remember other cars before I was born that had big bulky pillars, too.
Every car has blind spots, some worse than others. This is a nice way to fix one of those.
It's just one more thing that is required to sell cars in the US. Big deal. BTDT, most new cars have back up cameras already.
(double post)
When you DD something like this a rear view camera is very nice to have.
Even though I have added extra mirrors I cannot see what is behind the vehicle very well. From the outside the rear windows are deceiving. There is a post on the opening edge of each door that covers a good part of the window space and then you have 3 headrests sticking up blocking your view out of what is left of the window.
When I put in an aftermarket head unit I made sure I got one with a back-up camera. Now after a quick glance in the mirrors I use the camera when backing up. The camera setup has a guide built-in to it so I can even tell how close I am to something within +/- 3".
In reply to Hal:
I don't doubt there is any question to the cameras being useful. I think the discussion is about people being trained to be so simple minded that they cant work a vehicle without higher technology.
Those cameras are, I'm sure, very nice on a big, blocky vehicle like that. But making them mandatory on vehicles like a Miata/MX5? Crazy!
I have no issue with back-up cameras. But to idiot-proof a car is absolutely impossible.
They need to mandate air bags on grocery carts. I alomost got t-boned in the frozen food aisle yesterday.
1988RedT2 wrote: I have no issue with back-up cameras. But to idiot-proof a car is absolutely impossible.
That's not going to stop them from trying.
Personally, I'd rather to be able to see out well enough to AVOID an accident rather than live with the false sense that I will be safe in my armored personnel carrier when I inevitably run into something I can't see (or get hit by someone who can't see out of their own metal cocoon).
And NO, I DON'T think I am a fantastic driver. I've had my own share of accidents.
I'm not against backup cameras. I'm against MANDATORY backup cameras that are largely necessary only because of mandatory regulations and/or styling trends that murder visibility.
N Sperlo wrote: In reply to Hal: I don't doubt there is any question to the cameras being useful. I think the discussion is about people being trained to be so simple minded that they cant work a vehicle without higher technology.
And some people just can't seem to get the hang of it without the high tech help. My wife and one of her sisters are very careful drivers who always look over their shoulder and try to use the mirrors. But watching them back up is like watching someone go thru an Auto-X slalom in reverse even after me taking them and some cones to a parking lot to practice. Now that they have cars with back-up cameras they have no problems.
About half of it is styling trends. The average idiot driver feels safer with poor visibility. Being able to see all around them makes them feel exposed and unprotected. So the car's pillars are made unnecessarily wide. Volvo even had to ditch their see-through triangulated pillars they put into one of their concept cars for the weaker solid ones because of this.
ArthurDent wrote: Those cameras are, I'm sure, very nice on a big, blocky vehicle like that. But making them mandatory on vehicles like a Miata/MX5? Crazy!
Did you know that Miatas also have those interior trunk releases that glow in the dark? You know, in case you've been dismembered to fit in the trunk but still want to escape using your teeth so you can roll away into the weeds.
I grew up in a house that had a driveway with brick houses on each side, just wide enough to deal with a full size car. There was no way to turn around in the back, so I had to back out every time from the day I started driving. Plus it was a tight S bend to go from the garage to the driveway. Lemme tell you, when the alternative is leaving paint on the house, you get pretty darn good at backing up.
More bitching about "Government Mandates". I guess some of you want to do away with right side mirrors since they were mandated too. Showing my age some, but I had several vehicles where right side mirrors were optional or not available from the factory.
My Transit Connect also has reverse sensors that let me know when anything is back there. And I think they should be mandated also. Maybe that would keep the neighbor lady from almost hitting me as I walked down the street and she tried to back out of her driveway.
Keith, check the trunk of a Lotus Exige next time you see one 
Its worth a laugh.
Hal wrote: More bitching about "Government Mandates". I guess some of you want to do away with right side mirrors since they were mandated too. Showing my age some, but I had several vehicles where right side mirrors were optional or not available from the factory.
No, I don't want to OUTLAW safety devices. I just don't want them to be MANDATORY beyond the basic solidity required for usefulness. Nice try at hyperbolising our argument, though.
I know plenty of cars that didn't come with a right side mirror - I own one! Doesn't mean that I think that it was necessary to make them a requirement.
Cone_Junkie wrote: Over 200 deaths and 15,000 injuries related to backing up.
Sweet Jesus!
trucke wrote: They need to mandate air bags on grocery carts. I alomost got t-boned in the frozen food aisle yesterday.
Getting it... 
ArthurDent wrote: Those cameras are, I'm sure, very nice on a big, blocky vehicle like that. But making them mandatory on vehicles like a Miata/MX5? Crazy!
Yes they are and yes it is.
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