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Comment by xattt | Hacker News Reader

Is there anything special about the camera or did you previously have a vehicle without one? Rear view cameras will be mandatory on US cars starting with the 2018 MY.

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> Rear view cameras will be mandatory on US cars starting with the 2018 MY.

Woah, never expected that. I remember thinking they'd be a gimmick when I first got one. Life changer.

Apparently this has been in the works since 2014 (and would actually only add ~$140 to the cost of a vehicle) [0]. We'll see if our current administration wants to eliminate this as well...

[0] https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/03/31/nhtsa-r...

That's assuming the vehicle already has a screen to show the video on.

You can put a screen in the rear view mirror for cars without cartainment systems; that's what I did with our 2012 Accord

I am 100% against those cameras on everyday cars(not trucks). In a few minutes im heading to the local pool to swim laps. That parking lot is a nightmare. Older people in the nicer/largest cars heads-down watching the screen while backing up. Ive seen far to many close calls. Cars should be limited to 0.01 mph while using such cameras.

Remember what happens next. They will want to remove mirrors. Then rear windows will go. Backing and changing lanes will become like instrument flying. Pedestrians and two-wheelers beware.

Could you explain a bit more? If you are going backwards, and looking at the view behind you, then what is the issue? I have one on my car, and it shows ~140 degree field of view - I can see more from the camera than I can through any of the mirrors.

You only get 140, not the 360 if you actually bother to turn your head. If i remember correctly, i think you need a 150 field test to enlist in the military. 140 isnt enough, especially when the camera is at the bumper rather that at the driver position 10 feet back. You dont see the pedestrian approaching from the side or, in the case of this parking lot, the huge "dont back in" sign hung over the spots near ventilation equipment. Few of these parking cameras can look up. The resolution and size of a screen also means you dont percieve movement in your peripheral field as you would viewing a situation directly.

I agree with your point about people using backup cameras exclusively—they are bad drivers. Still, for many cars that view would've formerly included a blind spot large enough for child-size things.

> They will want to remove mirrors. Then rear windows will go.

Great. Our vehicle has a camera mirror that enables an unobstructed view of what's next to us as we change lanes, and it's a revelation. I'll take any sensor- and camera-assisted situational awareness and accident prevention I can get.

I agree to a certain extent. I believe backup cameras are this generation's equivalent of the automatic car. Where I grew up, you had pretty much no choice but to learn to drive using a manual/stick which in my (biased) opinion teaches you greater respect and understanding of a vehicle and a better appreciation of how to use the gears to your advantage in various conditions. I now have an automatic car and I've noticed it's so easy to just drop into a zen state on the highways which I didn't find so much with a manual car.

Perhaps it's a stretch, but I feel the same way about reverse cameras. We were taught to not rely solely on mirrors but to physically check over our shoulders before reversing, but so often these days (usually in SUV-dominated supermarket lots) I see people fire up their car, look down at the screen and start reversing without physically checking out the surrounding environment. The cameras are a great aid for sure, but I think over reliance on them is dangerous and I hope the basics will continue to be taught to learner drivers as cameras become more prevalent. Of course, soon none of us will be driving anyway so maybe it doesn't matter.

I wouldn't call cameras "this generation" anything. My experience is not that young people are relying upon these cameras. It's old people, people who cannot so easily look over their shoulders. Cameras are also, today, on newer and more expensive/larger cars generally bought by older people. It's like the pickup trucks with those little steps that fold out. They aren't marketing those to actual cowboys.

I'd prefer if they required video plus proximity audio feedback. Video only systems don't give you the same urgency gauge as audio feedback does.

The most useful feature on new cars that I've seen are the Mercedes (I believe) proximity indicators on side mirrors.

There's a tiny red light that illuminates to the bottom left of the mirror when a vehicle is alongside the driver's car. Solves the blindspot problem in one swoop.

>Solves the blindspot problem in one swoop.

Except if the indicator can fail silently in any case. Then the problem is worse than it ever was.

Only if it happens more often than people fail to properly execute the over-the-shoulder look. I doubt that.

That kind of problem is now well handled. See ISO 26262.

tl;dr of ISO 26262 would be interesting. Could not find anything short and meaningful quickly.

That's why it's called assistance. Blindspots can still be checked by physically moving, and they should be.

Mazda has had those (as well as audio alerts) standard for years as well. Fairly certain several other manufacturers have also integrated the tech.

I prefer solving it through the low-tech expedient of turning my head.

I think rear cameras are wonderful. They make reversing maneuvers so much easier, and cover a blind spot that is impossible to cover in any other way short of getting out of the car.

But I don't get the worry over side blind spots. They're only blind spots if you keep your head pointed resolutely forward.

If you can see through an overly wide and poorly placed B pillar, more power to you.

It's been my experience that the majority of drivers can't. And not all cars are well designed with regards to visibility.

Lean forward so you can see around it. If you can't position your head so that you can view your blind spot (possibly with the aid of mirrors) then you can't drive safely and need to adjust your seat or get a new car.

The problem isn't sample size 1 (e.g. you, me, or any individual HN reader). It's "drivers" in aggregate.

My doing anything isn't going to prevent the 800k+ blind spot accidents or ~300 blind spot fatalities in the US annually.

My point is mandating an awareness aid that it's now economical to produce might.

I didn't realize you were talking about the aggregate. With statements like "If you can see through an overly wide and poorly placed B pillar, more power to you" and "not all cars are well designed with regards to visibility" I thought you were trying to say that my strategy cannot work in general, not merely that people won't bother.

You could also solve it (more reliably) by using aspherical mirrors, but those are illegal in the US.

All my cars (and motorcycle) have 3.5" adhesive convex mirrors stuck to the OEM side mirrors (both sides). Cost 3USD each to remove each side's blind spot.

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