Should Rearview Cameras in Cars be Required?

It was recently reported in major news outlets such as the New York Times that the United States Transportation Department has added rearview cameras as a recommended safety feature in vehicles. However, this falls short of what many hoped for. Safety advocates were hoping that the Transportation Department would require the installation of rearview cameras.

Rearview cameras help to avoid back over accidents, which kill almost 300 people and injure 18,000 a year according to the Transportation Department. Many of the injured and/or killed are children.

Automakers argue that there is a significant cost to adding this feature to vehicles. The cost to add this to each vehicle is approximately $200. Automakers would argue that cars need to be affordable and whether or not the safety feature is added should be left to the purchaser of the vehicle.

What do you think? Should rearview cameras be optional or required?

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