Rear-View Cameras Not Foolproof

Too often, it seems, we come across another terrifying story about a parent or relative running over a child while backing up a vehicle in a driveway. Once again, technology promises a fix—a way to help drivers see where they couldn't before with rear-view cameras to prevent this one particular kind of tragedy. But do they work?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has told the U.S. Congress that rear-view cameras are "expensive, unreliable and give drivers a false sense of security." That's been my biggest concern. The cameras don't clearly delineate everything in the full, wide swath of a vehicle, especially larger vans and SUVs. It worries me that drivers might tend to rely fully on them and not use their own senses to check around a vehicle before backing up.

Rear-view cameras are not widely used yet. As this AP story points out, on their own, they are not very expensive, but they are typically offered as a new car feature when coupled with the built-in screen that comes with a satellite navigation system, which can cost as much as $2,000.

Steve Bass at PC World tested Roadmaster's VR3 Wireless Backup Camera on his small RV, For $140 (he writes you can find it for even less), he attached the wireless camera system webcam to his RV's rear license plate and mounted the portable screen on his dashboard. His take: He's glad to have it but it doesn't provide as wide a view as he'd hoped, and it can act up as wireless gadgets will do, with fuzzy images and sometimes, none at all. In short, it's not foolproof.

Kids and Cars, a nonprofit consumer-advocacy group, says 474 children died from 2002 to 2006 after being backed over by a vehicle-up from 138 from 1997 to 2001. The group bases its numbers on police reports, media stories, and information from the NHTSA. The rise in numbers is attributed to the rise of larger SUVs and vehicles on the road.

The NHTSA says it will work to improve rear-view detection systems to alert drivers to potential backovers. But even when the next generation of improved, less-expensive rear view cameras hit the market, drivers should never fully rely on them to tell them what's going on around them on a road, or in a driveway.

If anyone is using a rear-view camera in their vehicles, let us know if you think it works well. Would you trust one if you had it in your vehicle?

LINKS: Feds pan systems to prevent cars backing over kids [AP via Chicago Sun-Times]

For Your Car: Wireless Rear View Camera [PC World]