Friday, April 11, 2014

NHTSA Issues Final Rule on Rear Visibility Technology

Each year, there are an average of 210 fatalities and 15,000 injuries caused by vehicles striking individuals while in reverse. To help reduce these incidents, the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a final rule requiring rear visibility technology in all new vehicles weighing less than 10,000 lb by May 2018. Affected vehicles will include small buses and trucks.

Under the rule, every vehicle must be equipped with rear visibility technology that expands the driver's field of view to include a 10-ft by 20-ft zone directly behind the vehicle. Other system requirements of the rule include specifications regarding image size, linger time, response time, durability and deactivation.

Read the final rule here.