As of Tuesday, all new cars sold in the United States are required to have backup cameras as part of their standard equipment.
The new rule was mandated during the Barack Obama administration by the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency in 2014 in an effort to reduce the possibility of drivers backing up into other people — especially children.
“This day is so important because we don’t have a choice” when it comes to children’s safety around cars, said Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org, an advocacy group that works to prevent accidents involving children and motor vehicles, ABC News reported. “This measure will save countless lives, especially of children.”
The NHTSA’s action was in turn prompted by a 2008 act passed by Congress that required agencies to adopt measures to improve a driver’s rearview vision.
At the time then-President George W. Bush signed the bill into law, an average of one child per week was killed in backup accidents, Reuters reported.
The law had a Feb. 28, 2011, implementation deadline, which the NHTSA met, but the regulation spent years ping-ponging between agencies before eventually being stalled for several years in the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
"The regulation is a monumental advancement of safety for children, pedestrians, bicyclists and other vulnerable road users," said Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, USA Today reported.
To see the regulation finally come to reality has been a long-held dream of Dr. Greg Gulbransen, who accidentally backed over and killed his 2-year-old son Cameron in 2002.
“It’s been a long fight, but we’re thrilled this day has finally come,” Gulbransen said in a statement, according to ABC News. “It's a bittersweet day because this rule should have been in place many years ago. Though his own life was short, my son Cameron inspired a regulation that will save the lives of countless others."
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