The new rear visibility portion of FMVSS 111 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) regulation will phase in starting May 1, 2017 for all vehicles with a 10,000-pound gross vehicle weight or less. These amendments have implications for truck equipment manufactures and upfitters that modify vehicles in gross vehicle weight ranges governed by the new regulations. Relocation of the rearview camera and/or added equipment may be necessary. Company fleet and safety managers will want to understand the new regulation to monitor compliance with FMVSS for their upfitted vehicles including proper fixed adjustments of and any obstructions of the camera equipment. Basically the rule requires full visibility of area 10 feet by 20 feet from the vehicle’s rear centerline.
Department of Transportation federal standards for rear visibility apply to all new vehicles under 10,000, requiring backup cameras by May 2018. Congress called for the rules in 2008 but deadlines extended four times over cost concerns. NHTSA estimates that a full system, including a camera and a display screen, will cost $132 to $142 per vehicle for the 2018 model year. Installing a camera in a vehicle that already has a suitable display screen would cost $43 to $45, the agency says. Because an estimated 73 percent of the new-vehicle fleet would have rearview cameras by 2018, regardless of the standards, NHTSA estimates the total cost of its rule at $546 million to $640 million.
Back-over accidents kill an estimated 210 people in the United States each year and cause another 15,000 injuries, NHTSA says. Safety advocates have complained that automakers profited on backup cameras by offering them as pricey add-ons rather than standard equipment, and questioned delays by the DOT as industry prejudice.