Rearview camera in cars may be mandatory in 2014

It's a tragedy that befalls hundreds of families in the United States every year - small children being backed over by drivers who can't see them in their rearview mirror. Now, the Department of Transportation is taking steps to eliminate blind spots behind cars.

By 2014, the government wants all vehicles to be equipped with devices such as rear-mounted video cameras that will allow drivers to see directly behind their cars while in reverse. Safety advocates say the measure will help decrease the number of heartbreaking incidents in which parents back over their children.

"It's been over a decade that we've worked on this, and I think it's absolutely as big as seat belts and air bags. It will redefine for everyone forever the way that we drive our cars," said Janette Fennell, founder and president of Kids and Cars, a nonprofit group that promotes public education to prevent children from being killed in or near cars.

Phase-in period

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to require 10 percent of all new cars to have rearview technology by 2012, 40 percent by 2013 and all vehicles by September 2014. It is seeking comments on the proposed rule, which is scheduled to go into effect in February.

"There is no more tragic accident than for a parent or caregiver to back out of a garage or driveway and kill or injure an undetected child playing behind the vehicle," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "The changes we are proposing will help drivers see into those blind zones directly behind vehicles to make sure it is safe to back up."

Although the agency has not specified what kind of devices might meet the standard, its researchers determined that the most effective option would be a video camera mounted somewhere on the back of the car and an in-vehicle display.

The cost would range from $58 to $88 for cars that come with a navigation system and $159 to $203 for those with a display that is part of the rearview mirror.

Cameras aren't without their problems, however. Researchers found that some didn't work well in the rain and snow.

Convex mirrors

The federal traffic safety agency has also investigated the use of rear-mounted convex mirrors, now available as aftermarket products - items sold by third parties after the consumer has bought the car. Although cheaper than cameras, convex mirrors may not be as reliable because they compress and distort the images of reflected objects, the agency said.

The total cost to the auto industry would be as much as $2.7 billion a year if the carmakers choose the video-camera route.

"There are several options in the proposal, and we're assessing which ones we'll be able to support," said Wade Newton, spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry group in Washington, D.C. "Given that our top priority is keeping people - especially children - safe in and around autos, the alliance looks forward to working with regulators to ensure that, in the end, we have enhancements that save lives and improve safety."

Seeking flexibility

Annemarie Pender, a spokeswoman for the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers in Washington, said her members are seeking "maximum flexibility" in approaches to meet the rear-visibility requirements.

The proposed rule was required by Congress as part a 2007 safety act named for Cameron Gulbransen, 2, who was killed when his father accidentally backed over him in the family's driveway in Woodbury, N.Y.

Each year, there are on average 292 fatalities from back-over accidents and 18,000 injuries, of which 3,000 are determined to be incapacitating, the traffic agency said.

California leads the nation in non-traffic child deaths, which also include power-window strangulations and children left in overheated cars. About 44 percent of these deaths result from back-over crashes, which usually happen in parking lots and driveways.

Small children at risk

Children under 5 years old, as well as the elderly, are particularly at risk of dying because someone was "backing up blind," Fennell said. In most cases, the cars are traveling at low speed.

Oakland police traffic Officer Jim Gordon said he has witnessed the grief firsthand after investigating three such tragedies during his career.

"There's nothing more devastating to a family than you causing the death of a loved one," Gordon said. "The anguish that comes with losing a child is indescribable. Anything that's going to increase the visibility behind a vehicle to avoid a potential fatality is something we all support as traffic officers and law enforcement in general."

Young children can be impulsive and unpredictable, especially as they learn to walk. Children do not recognize boundaries such as property lines, sidewalks, driveways or parking spaces, Fennell said.

Child-safety experts say there is often a "bye-bye syndrome" in which toddlers experience separation anxiety and follow a parent outside to the driveway, unbeknownst to the parent.

To reduce such incidents, parents can back their cars into the garage or driveway when returning home. That way, when they leave the next day, they can simply drive forward slowly and have a better view.

Drivers can also do a "walk around" of their cars, much as airline pilots do, to check for children nearby.

E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle