Do Backup Cameras Protect You?

[bronsin]

Here is the tragic story of a child run over by a car. Note the FRONT WHEEL ran him over. Which cant be seen with a REAR VIEW camera!

Many such accidents, even those which involve the child being run over by the REAR of the vehicle, involve the child RUNNING into the car. From an area NOT in the view of the camera!

It seems that rear view cameras are NOT protection against this problem.

What IS protection involves looking all around WITH YOUR EYES the entire time you are in reverse.





http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/26...christmas-day/

[david_827]

Originally Posted by bronsin

What IS protection involves looking all around WITH YOUR EYES the entire time you are in reverse.





http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/26...christmas-day/

Cant stress this enough. I am probably the only person at my job who drives a small car. 95% of the cars in my job's parking lot are SUVs and crossovers. I have had to swerve around several of my coworkers backing out of parking spots on multiple occassions, because instead of looking around they consistently rely solely on the back up cam....

[MadMax]

Situational awareness will save your life and the lives of others. Back-up cameras are a crutch and lead to a dependency on technology to do what the driver should be doing.

[pismo61]

In my wifes car I only use it as a tool for backing but cant soley rely on it.I dont feel comfortable just looking at that screen.

[vadr45]

What back-up cameras ARE good for is assistance when backing into a parking space - they tell you when you're going to snag the rear bumper on the concrete barrier or mash the bumper of the car behind you. Their SOLE use is in parking - parallel parking in particular. Any other use should be criminalized.

...and frankly, I'm for banning any cars bigger than a bread box. I've SEEN an SUV back over a Miata.

[bronsin]

Right small cars = less energy = less physical trauma in accidents.

Big cars are like letting crazy people loose in our schools with assualt rifles.

To say nothing of buring twice the gas our nation uses vs small cars....

[david_827]

Originally Posted by vadr45

...and frankly, I'm for banning any cars bigger than a bread box. I've SEEN an SUV back over a Miata.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by MadMax

Situational awareness will save your life and the lives of others. Back-up cameras are a crutch and lead to a dependency on technology to do what the driver should be doing.

^^^^^ This. My awareness, and the awareness of 2-3 drivers going the other direction made avoiding what would have been a horrendous accident earlier this year in Florida possible. The actions of those other drivers were the most amazing, because the 'not able to finish a 10 car pass before a curve so still in the southbound lane while heading north, but already over a double yellow' driver was going the same direction these other cars were. All of us (except the illegal pass guy) instinctively (it happened so fast it had to be instinct) moved to the very edge of the half at best shoulder and the wrong direction passing guy squeezed between us, still going quite fast. I may have posted about this earlier this year, but (in replaying the event in my mind) I don't think I realized how amazing the situational awareness of the 2-3 lawful northbound drivers was until very recently.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Here is the tragic story of a child run over by a car. Note the FRONT WHEEL ran him over. Which cant be seen with a REAR VIEW camera!

Many such accidents, even those which involve the child being run over by the REAR of the vehicle, involve the child RUNNING into the car. From an area NOT in the view of the camera!

It seems that rear view cameras are NOT protection against this problem.

What IS protection involves looking all around WITH YOUR EYES the entire time you are in reverse.





http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/26...christmas-day/

My little cousin who inspired my user name has two first cousins (also little cousins of mine). When the older of the two was about 22 months old (Christmas of 2008) I bought her a Big Wheel for Christmas. By coincidence, her aunt also bought her a Big Wheel. We laughed, put one of them together, and watched her ride it in the driveway and out into the cul-de-sac. This made more of an impression on me than my user name namesake little cousin riding her Big Wheel a few years earlier because she was only allowed to ride in the backyard (they don't live on a cul-de-sac and traffic has increased on their street over the years). I've always been a 'looking all around with your eyes while in reverse and backing' person, but I've been even more aware since watching my little cousin ride her new Big Wheel in the cul-de-sac on Christmas Day in 2008.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by david_827

Cant stress this enough. I am probably the only person at my job who drives a small car. 95% of the cars in my job's parking lot are SUVs and crossovers. I have had to swerve around several of my coworkers backing out of parking spots on multiple occassions, because instead of looking around they consistently rely solely on the back up cam....

This post, and vadr45's post, remind me of a teenager driving an Expedition who backed into my spare Integra in a parking lot (I think I wrote about that in a previous thread). TEENAGERS DRIVING LARGE SUVs = THE WORST COMBINATION .

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Right small cars = less energy = less physical trauma in accidents.

Big cars are like letting crazy people loose in our schools with assualt rifles.

To say nothing of buring twice the gas our nation uses vs small cars....

As much as I hate big cars/SUVs, I think the government butting in and banning them = worse than the current situation.

[MadMax]

Actually, the last vehicle I drove with a back-up camera, I tore the driver's side mirror off using it! I was backing out from an underground garage and one of the pillars ripped the damn thing off!

Luckily it was a work rental and had full insurance, but that only solidified my belief that they are useless.

That said, I do find the back-up sensors that beep when you get close to an object to be helpful as they area audio warning and don't distract you from looking where you should!

Cheers! M2

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by MadMax

Actually, the last vehicle I drove with a back-up camera, I tore the driver's side mirror off using it! I was backing out from an underground garage and one of the pillars ripped the damn thing off!

Luckily it was a work rental and had full insurance, but that only solidified my belief that they are useless.

That said, I do find the back-up sensors that beep when you get close to an object to be helpful as they area audio warning and don't distract you from looking where you should!

Cheers! M2

IMO, the only valid use for one in a Yaris would be to use video captured to prove you were not at fault in a chain reaction pile-up where every car except the last one/guilty party is already stopped at a red signal or in traffic on the freeway. The odds of that happening are slim enough that, I agree, the useless moniker would pretty much fit. I agree that having one might create a technological dependence, and in addition this is one case (rare ?) where the 'tech' answer isn't as effective as the properly executed human one (at least re any camera I've ever seen). If a car had one standard or as part of a package where I wanted everything else, I wouldn't take the camera out or disable it. If I had an extra smartphone that I wasn't doing anything else with, and a cheap app was available that would work facing rearward (many definitely do facing forward) I would try that out. That one use is unlikely enough that I wouldn't spend more than $10.00 (for an app) to have a rear facing camera feature. I agree that audio back-up sensors are valuable for the same reason you stated.

[wufai]

I had one installed on my 07 sedan for $25. never feel the need to use it for backing out. Reason for installing was just for cool factor. However now I do find it useful for backing in close to the garage wall and parallel parking.

[DebbyM46227]

I've driven and survived many years without back-up cameras. Just another way for the NANNY Govt. to act like they have to protect us. I also survived riding in the car without a car seat, riding my bikes and roller skating without ugly helmuts and all that padding.

[fnkngrv]

The only use that I could see for a back up cam is to align a hitch ball/receiver on a truck.

[matti]

I'm probably too cynical, but I just see it as some other gadget that is apt to break.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by matti

I'm probably too cynical, but I just see it as some other gadget that is apt to break.

......which is how I look at the existence of power windows .