NHTSA Proposing to Require Back-Up Cameras in All Cars

A key federal safety agency has proposed a new rule that would require all new vehicles to have back-up cameras by 2014.

2011-03-31

March 31, 2011 (Press-News.org) A key federal safety agency has proposed a new rule that would require all new vehicles to have back-up cameras by 2014. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is seeking to implement a 2007 Act of Congress that directed NHTSA to amend the federal motor vehicle safety standard on rearview mirrors.

The rule change is designed to improve the ability of a driver to detect pedestrians in the area immediately behind his or her vehicle and minimize the likelihood of a vehicle's running over a pedestrian while its driver is backing the vehicle.

The proposed rule expands the required field of view for all passenger cars, trucks, multipurpose passenger vehicles, buses, and low-speed vehicles rated at 10,000 pounds or less, gross vehicle weight.

Rationale for the Rule

Under the rule, an area immediately behind each vehicle would be specified that the driver must be able to see when the vehicle's transmission is in reverse. Currently only a wide-angle camera connected to a dashboard display could meet that requirement.

Because this technology will add between $159 and $203 to the cost of a vehicle, NHTSA has also proposed some lower cost alternatives, including a sensor with a warning noise.

The rule is expected to prevent an estimated 228 car accident deaths every year. According to federal data, 44 percent of those killed in back-up accidents are children under the age of five. Eighty percent of the victims are under the age of three. Preventing death and injuries to children is therefore a prime goal of the rule.

Cost Considerations

Given the young age of the victims and the ineffectiveness of warning/sensor systems in preventing their likelihood of being backed over, the cost of the cameras is not excessive. This is especially so given the terrible nature of many back-up accidents, in which parents sometimes run over their own children.

The price of the cameras also must be put in perspective compared to other vehicle accessories. For example, the 2011 Honda Odyssey's floor mats cost $199. Most people would probably agree the potential for saving a child's life is at least the price of a set of floor mats.

Article provided by Harris & Harris Lawyers
Visit us at www.harrisschwartz.com

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New York Case Shows Dangers of Cosmetic Silicone Injections

2011-03-31

The quest to measure up to society's beauty ideals through cosmetic surgery can pose grave risks when the surgery is not done right. Improperly planned or performed surgery can lead to disfigurement and even death. Even more shocking, recently it has been discovered that unlicensed providers inject people with silicone and other illicit substances, including paraffin, petroleum jelly and hydrogel. Even a licensed provider can commit surgical errors if the operation was not properly planned and carried out. Many people know that medical malpractice law exists to compensate ...

URI scientist discovers 54 beneficial compounds in pure maple syrup

2011-03-31

KINGSTON, R.I. – March 30, 2011 – University of Rhode Island researcher Navindra Seeram has discovered 34 new beneficial compounds in pure maple syrup and confirmed that 20 compounds discovered last year in preliminary research play a key role in human health. Today at the 241st American Chemical Society's National Meeting in Anaheim, Calif. the URI assistant pharmacy professor is telling scientists from around the world that his URI team has now isolated and identified 54 beneficial compounds in pure maple syrup from Quebec, five of which have never been seen in nature. ...

Study finds surprising gender differences related to sexual harassment

2011-03-31

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Sexual harassment may have become so commonplace for women that they have built up resistance to harassing behavior they consider merely "bothersome," suggests a provocative new study by Michigan State University researchers. This effect, said lead investigator Isis Settles, may be similar to the way people build up immunity to infection following exposure to a virus. "When women view sexual harassment as bothersome, it doesn't seem to be associated with distress," said Settles, associate professor of psychology. "In some ways this suggests that ...

Accounting for House Payments Made by a Spouse During Separation

2011-03-31

After deciding to end a marriage, many spouses separate prior to finalizing their divorce. Although still married, they may obtain separate residences, bank accounts and lead separate lives during their separation. It is not uncommon for one spouse to make the majority of the payments on joint debts during the separation. For the spouse making payments on marital debts during separation, it is important to know whether or not that spouse might receive a credit for any portion of these payments in the property division when the divorce is finalized. In Clapp and Clapp ...

The Recovery Farce: Why Now is the Time to File for Bankruptcy

2011-03-31

A recent poll by CBS News found that nearly 60% of Americans do not believe that the economy is getting better, regardless of what official White House statements profess. With gas prices rising, unemployment stagnant at 9% and the highest national debt in US history, it's no wonder that Americans are skeptical of the White House's claims. Many economists agree with the majority of Americans -- the recession is not getting better, and we may be headed toward a situation similar to the fiscal crisis of the late 1970s. Forbes analyst Charles Kadlec recently wrote a ...

Genes relate to level of alcohol consumption among Asians

2011-03-31

In a study of 1,721 Korean male drinkers aged 40󈞱 y in an urban population–based cohort, and another sample of 1,113 male drinkers from an independent rural cohort, information on average daily alcohol consumption was collected and DNA samples were collected for genotyping. In a genome-wide association (GWA) study, 12 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosome 12q24 had genome-wide significant associations with alcohol consumption. These polymorphisms were closely related to genes that determine levels of ALDH, low levels of which relate to flushing ...

New study shows you can have your candy and eat it too -- without adverse health effects

2011-03-31

WASHINGTON, DC, March 30, 2011 -- Good news for candy and chocolate lovers: they tend to weigh less, have lower body mass indices (BMI) and waist circumferences, and have decreased levels of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and metabolic syndrome, according to a new study(1) published in Nutrition Research. The findings are positive, but lead researcher Carol O'Neil, PhD, MPH, LDN, RD, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, cautions it is all things in moderation. "We certainly don't want these results positioned as eating candy helps you to lose ...

Could HIV-infected organs save lives?

2011-03-31

If Congress reversed its ban on allowing people with HIV to be organ donors after their death, roughly 500 HIV-positive patients with kidney or liver failure each year could get transplants within months, rather than the years they currently wait on the list, new Johns Hopkins research suggests. "If this legal ban were lifted, we could potentially provide organ transplants to every single HIV-infected transplant candidate on the waiting list," says Dorry L. Segev, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the ...

Neglected Colorectal Screenings Cost Thousands of Lives

2011-03-31

Colorectal cancers (those affecting the large intestine) are becoming more common. Colorectal cancers (those affecting the large intestine) are becoming more common. In fact, colorectal cancer kills around 57,000 elderly people annually -- far more than prostate, kidney, breast, bladder or pancreatic cancer -- leaving it second only to lung cancer in annual fatalities. One positive thing about colorectal cancer is that if it is detected early enough it is generally treatable. Unfortunately, though, screening procedures are often neglected even though they are part of ...

Scientists reach beyond the clouds with mobile phone app to explore the outer atmosphere

2011-03-31

Engineering scientists at the University of Southampton have reached above the clouds in a first-of-its-kind experiment to develop new technologies that probe the stratosphere using an unmanned vehicle. The test flight was part of the ASTRA (Atmospheric Science Through Robotic Aircraft) project, and it demonstrated how a low-cost high altitude platform could be used to send a payload with atmospheric monitoring equipment into the upper atmosphere. The balloon-borne aircraft harnessed the power of 'cloud computing' using an on-demand computing and storage resource, via ...

NHTSA Proposing to Require Back-Up Cameras in All Cars

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: