Do You Need a Backup Camera?

Yeah, you probably do.

All new cars will have backup cameras within a few years. Specifically, by May 1, 2018, every new car sold in the US will have a backup camera. It won’t have to be a very fancy one, but one will be required. This has been in the works for years already, and it’s not something the auto industry fought very hard. Why? First of all people want backup cameras, and second, they save lives.

Modern aerodynamics require car trunks to be higher than ever, and the decades-long trend of pickups and SUVs mean a large percentage of the population is driving a car with really bad rear visibility. What do I mean by really bad? It’s very easy to miss something even if it’s four and a half feet tall. Of course that’s not so terrible if you’re talking about a traffic cone but there are a lot of other possibilities. You could be talking about a fire hydrant, an animal or even a child. The area behind your car is the biggest blind spot you have and let’s put the cards on the table, it’s a fatal one.

Over two hundred people die every year from accidents where they are backed over. That doesn’t even count the injuries. That’s a lot of people and let’s be honest here, the problem is easy to fix. Using the same technology found in millions of smartphones, you can add a backup camera to any car for a very reasonable price.

Not everyone can afford a new car and that’s why we offer this backup camera kit. It’s reasonably priced and installation isn’t hard at all. If you want it to look really good you will have to feed some wires into the cabin through the trunk and possibly under carpet or doorsills, but a simple installation shouldn’t take you long at all with tools you probably already have. You simply wire the camera to your car’s electrical system in such a way that it goes on when you are backing up and attach the monitor to your window or dashboard. Really, that’s it.

Personally, I know I feel a lot better knowing that vehicles with backup cameras are all around. I suppose if I thought they cost thousands of dollars or had any downside when it comes to public health, I might think differently. The truth though is that there is no downside. The monitor only works while you are in reverse so there’s no danger of being distracted by it. The best part of course is that it’s really not expensive at all and you get a large, clear picture of what’s going on behind you. Trust me, all it takes is one child sitting on your driveway for you to be incredibly glad you have a backup camera.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.