NHTSA Drops Rule to Require Rear View System for Midsized Trucks
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has terminated a 2005 proposed change in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 111, "Rearview Mirrors," that would have required straight trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating between 10,000 and 26,000 pounds to be equipped with a system that gave the drivers a view of objects directly behind the vehicles.
NHTSA, a DOT agency, said data generated since its 2005 notice of proposed rulemaking shows midsized trucks account for only four of the estimated 183 back-over fatalities per year. Also, the recently signed Cameron Gulbranson Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007 requires NHTSA to revise the federal standard for rear visibility specifically to reduce backing crashes involving children and disabled people.
"Considering these developments, the agency believes it is more appropriate to address backing safety of straight trucks as part of the comprehensive effort to address backing safety generally, and that solutions should be formulated after the completion and review of ongoing research and data gathering on backing safety. We are therefore withdrawing this rulemaking at this time," the Federal Register notice stated.