Rearview video systems have been added to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s list of Recommended Advanced Technology Features, and the DOT is being pressured by advocacy groups to implement a rule requiring backup cameras in vehicles.
The NHTSA list is designed to encourage auto makers to include such features in new models going forward, an action that a former NHTSA chairman called “meaningless,” according to Businessweek. Regardless of how this shakes out, the attention being given to backup cameras remains good news for third-party manufacturers and installers.
As with remote starting, navigation and in-car Bluetooth, consumers will gain awareness of the benefits of backup cameras should the technology indeed become widely integrated into new cars and, eventually, advertised. And while not all consumers will purchase new cars because of the technology, the trickle-down jealousy effect for drivers of older cars is one that aftermarket makers and installers can take advantage of.
Indeed, car buying group Mobile Electronics Specialists of America (MESA), released a series of commercials for its members highlighting the benefits of in-vehicle technology — one of which includes backup cameras.
