Just a few months ago, it seemed to be a done deal that light vehicles sold in the United States would need backup cameras within a few years.Auto safety regulators had proposed to mandate them in new vehicles by as soon as 2014, following through on a 2008 law aimed at reducing the number of children who are backed over and hurt or killed. Then, President Obama won re-election and lobbyists for car companies seemed to lose their best shot at blocking the rule.
The rule was widely expected to be released in December, as Automotive News reported at the time.But now, more than three months after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood promised to make the mandate final, it has not materialized. Safety advocates are incensed, and so are the bill's sponsors."It's inexcusable that we haven't done anything," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., one of the bill's two main sponsors, during a press conference on Capitol Hill.
The Centers for Disease Control says an average of two children die every week in a backover incident."Two year olds don't know cars are dangerous," said Michael Dahlen, whose daughter Abigail died three years ago Thursday.Dahlen, whose wife Brandy stood teary eyed next to him holding a photo of Abigail, described how he had to "get up under the car and pull her out" after a neighbor' backed over her in a Chevrolet Suburban.
The rule has a very high cost for the expected number of lives saved, which is believed to be the main roadblock to the rule's mplementation. NHTSA estimated in 2009 that it could cost $1.5 to nearly $3 billion when rear cameras are installed in all cars.But the fact carmakers have already installed cameras in more than half of new vehicles would be considered by OMB in its cost assessment, according to John Graham, who was rulemaking chief at the Office of Management and Budget in the last Bush Administration. Still, he noted, NHTSA and OMB are "generally reluctant to issue safety standards that cost consumers more than $5-$10 million per life saved."
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