Industry and Reasons
for Back Up Sensors
from Autero
REVERSE BACKING ACCIDENTS
Every 1.6 minutes, another U.S. driver backs into trouble. Actually, every year in the United States alone, there are over 300,000 reported reversing accidents, in driveways, parking lots, and neighborhoods all over the country. These accidents unfortunately account for more than 400 deaths annually (typically young children), and cost drivers in excess of 1.3 billion dollars in damages that a back up sensor could have prevented.
According to Kids and Cars (http://www.kidsandcars.org), a nonprofit group that wants to improve child safety around cars, back over incidents killed 91 children in 2003; more than 82% of these deaths were children under the age of four. Plus, children aged one through four, while representing only 6 percent of the total U.S. population, account for about 30 percent of all non-occupants killed in off-road backing crashes. Those deaths represented a 57 percent increase from 2002. A contributing factor is that larger vehicles (SUVs, pickups, and minivans), which have become increasingly popular, have larger blind spots than passenger cars. A blind spot is the area behind a vehicle that a person can't see from the driver's seat.
THE PROBLEM OF REAR BLIND SPOTS
Back over accidents usually occur when a person, often a child, is hidden in a vehicle’s rear blind spot. The longer the vehicle and the higher the rear window, the bigger the blind spot and the more difficult it is to see a child or object on the ground behind the vehicle.
To illustrate that point, we measured the blind-spot area of a sedan, a minivan, an SUV, and a pickup truck. We placed a 28-inch-high traffic cone at varying distances behind the vehicle to measure how far back it would have to be before a driver of average stature (5 feet 8 inches) and one of short stature (5 feet 1 inch) could see it.
We found that a Honda Accord sedan has a blind spot of roughly 12 feet for an average-height driver. That is, the driver may not see a small object up to 12 feet behind the bumper. This is where a back up sensor could help! The blind spot for a short driver in the Accord is 17 feet. The Dodge Grand Caravan minivan has a blind spot of 13 feet for the average-height driver and 23 feet for the short driver. The Toyota Sequoia SUV is slightly worse: 14.5 feet for an average-height driver; 24.5 feet for a short driver. By far the biggest blind spot, however, occurred with a Chevrolet Avalanche pickup: 30 feet for an average-sized driver, 51 feet for a short driver.
TESTIMONIALS FOR
Autero
One Canadian is trying to get back up sensors on all vehicles - new and old. Susan, the Canadian, has started a business marketing a back up sensor system that can be retrofitted to any car for about $250 installed, while the cost is slightly higher for vans and SUVs.
Susan convinced the Minister of National Defense to try the reverse back up sensor system on Canadian Forces vehicles in early 2000. The test involved 144 vehicles at CFB Borden near Barrie, Ontario. Captain Mike Kendall told Marketplace that - as far as he's concerned - the tests have been a success. There were 52 back up accidents in 1999. So far this year, he said, there have been 2. "If this test continues to show itself to be as effective as it has been to date, I can see this expanding throughout the entire Canadian Forces fleet," Kendall said.
Richard Wells is one Toronto man who doesn't need to be convinced that reverse back up sensor systems saves lives. He's had the system on his car for some time.
"I backed out and...there was a bunch of kids here," Wells told us, "and one of them let go on a training bike behind me and cut the motion sensor. The signal came on and I stopped immediately. Without the reverse back up sensor system, I probably would have hit the child."
Congress is considering a bill that would require the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration to collect back-over data and test reverse back up sensor system. Backup parking sensor systems can be purchased on some vehicle makes and models and retrofitted on most cars for between $200 and $2,000.
NOW WHAT TO DO
You have seen the statistics above and you have heard the success stories. It should be obvious now that you really research some options to protect you and others around you. Because we all know that if you have an accident while reversing, you will have to pay $500 - $1,000 for your deductible, your insurance rates will increase, and you have the possibility of injuring yourself or others around you.
There are only a few options available to you now:
1. You can sell your existing automobile and go out and spend $30-$40K for a new car with a reverse back up sensor system pre-installed or a video camera systems pre-installed.
2. You can purchase a reverse back up sensor system and install this unit on your car. We offer over 9 options for your vehicle in the pagers following.
3. Or you can do nothing, try to drive more carefully, and hopefully, you will not have any accidents while reversing.
You will see on this web site, you have many options for a reverse back up sensor system for your vehicle. You can purchase audible only systems, systems with a LCD Display and audible alarm, systems pre-installed on license plate frames to avoid permanent installation, as well as wireless systems coming soon. Now all you have to do is make a decision and purchase a systems that meets your needs.
Good luck and remember: “Because safety is important to us all”.
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WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS MARKET IN THE FUTURE
A.T. Kearney, a globally recognized management consulting firm, estimates that the collision warning market, including parking/blind spot awareness and distance warning systems, will grow to be a $1.7 billion industry by 2006.
In July 2001, Inside ITS, a trade publication, published results of a J.D. Power internet survey of 10,000 consumers, which found that 72 percent would like to have external sensing aids on their next vehicle and would be willing to pay $300 for the technology.
Also, to give you an understanding of how successful this industry will be in the coming years, in Japan, it should come as no surprise that about 80 percent of its Toyota Prius buyers have opted for Intelligent Parking Assist.