All New Cars Will Be Required to Have Back Up Cameras
I'm one of those people who get into a friends new car and go giddy over the technology. "Oh look you have one of those cameras that helps you back up, I don't, I just turn my neck." Yes, I'm that person. Sadly, I don't foresee a new car any time soon in my future. I'll just keep driving mine until it falls apart. She's a good car. However, with that said I'm looking forward to the day when I get a new car because it will definitely have the back up camera because it will be a requirement.
Most vehicles built after May 2018 will require the back up camera
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):
Today's final rule requires all vehicles under 10,000 pounds, including buses and trucks, manufactured on or after May 1, 2018, to come equipped with rear visibility technology that expands the field of view to enable the driver of a motor vehicle to detect areas behind the vehicle to reduce death and injury resulting from backover incidents. The field of view must include a 10-foot by 20-foot zone directly behind the vehicle. The system must also meet other requirements including image size, linger time, response time, durability, and deactivation.
This is an important safety measure in a vehicles. This allows the driver to see behind them especially in those blind zones. Yes, it will decrease wrecks due to backing up into another car. Better yet, it could save the life of a child who moved behind a vehicle.
In fact, thousands of children die each year due to back over accidents.
According to KidsandCars.org:
In the U.S. at least fifty children are being backed over by vehicles EVERY week. Forty-eight (48) are treated in hospital emergency rooms and at least two (2) children are fatally injured every WEEK.
Visit their website, and you can see the sweet faces of children who were killed in backover accidents.
So if you buy a new car that is a 2018 model or above you will have a backup camera. Any cars before that, I'm guessing it will be an option, but you can bet the car manufacturers will probably start phasing those cameras in all 2016 models.