NHTSA plans new rear view mirror and rear view video camera standard (FMVSS 111)

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has initiated rulemaking that will amend standards for rear view mirrors. The amendment to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No.111 is intended to improve a driver's ability to see areas to the rear of a motor vehicle, in order to mitigate fatalities and injuries associated with "backover incidents," where driver's strike pedestrians they are unable to see behind the vehicle. NHTSA and Congress are concerned that vehicles have "blind zones" behind the vehicle, in which drivers may have difficulty seeing and avoiding a person or other obstacle. In the notice, NHTSA has presented its initial research efforts, and solicited additional information to enable it to develop an effective proposal to mitigate back over incidents related to these rear blind zones.

The agency said that approximately 292 people are killed in the U.S. in back overs each year, specifically defined as an incident in which a non-occupant of a vehicle, such as a pedestrian or cyclist is struck by a vehicle moving in reverse. Most occur off public roadways in areas such as driveways and parking lots. A disproportionate number of victims are under 5 years old or 70 or older. Pick-up trucks and SUVs are most likely to be involved in these types of incidents. NHTSA said the problem of back overs warrants appropriate agency action.

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