Reversing cameras become mandatory for all new cars in the US

From May 1st this year, every new car sold in the United States must be fitted with a reversing camera.

This means that any new car bought in the US must have the camera as standard, and not as an option, regardless of its price.

The law which mandates the standardisation of reversing cameras was passed in 2014, however May 1st marks the date with which it finally comes into effect.

The move to standardise reversing cameras in North America comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was sued in 2013 by a group of property and casualty insurers which alleged the agency didn’t do enough to make the equipment mandatory.

The same group – known as Advocates – are now pushing for other technology such as Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), forward-collision alert, blind-spot warning, and lane departure warning to be standardised in the US.

The RACV started a push for reversing cameras to become standardised locally in 2016, claiming at the time that 70 children were “killed or seriously injured every year after being hit or run over” according to Federal Government data.

WhichCar reached out to both ANCAP and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (the chief lobby for car manufacturers in Australia) for comment, but neither has responded to our requests at the time of publishing.