When the time comes for you to purchase a new car for yourself or your family, it is likely that a number of smart features will be high on your wishlist. Rear backup cameras are among the most highly sought-after features by modern consumers who value both convenience and safety.
The question remains, though, as to how effective backup cameras are at preventing an accident and protecting your passengers from sustaining a catastrophic injury.
The functions of a vehicle backup cameras
Backup cameras display the area behind your vehicle on a screen within the dashboard area. This feature can be helpful with gauging the distance between your vehicle and other objects when parking or backing out from a parked position. Many backup cameras also come with warning systems and cross-traffic alerts with the intent of preventing a collision with moving vehicles behind your own car.
Backup cameras and accident avoidance
According to a study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, rearview cameras increase crash avoidance by as much as 17%. Rear cross-traffic alert systems increase safety even further, showing results of a 22% greater likelihood to avoid a collision.
Making good use of these technologies can help you avoid an accident with other drivers who speed through parking areas. Collisions that occur as you are backing out of a parking spot, for example, can be especially dangerous for passengers toward the rear of your vehicle.
While backup cameras can be helpful boons, over-reliance on smart technology can lead to otherwise avoidable accidents. Depending too much on backup cameras and similar safety features is an act of negligence, and you have the right to pursue legal action against individuals who cause damage to you as a result of such negligence.