The view behind you

In any vehicle, there are blind spots that could create a hazard. In situations where a driver is trying to back out of a driveway or parallel park in San Antonio, the area immediately behind the vehicle could particularly problematic. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a back-up camera may be helpful in these situations.

People who are most likely to benefit from this type of visual assistance are those who drive larger vehicles, such as trucks and SUVs, as well as older drivers. However, the cameras do not receive the high approval and safety ratings that a person might expect. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study indicates that a backover crash event is about 46 percent less likely to occur, but it is one of the few official reports on this technology.

The Washington Post reports that some people run into issues when they focus more on the image the camera provides rather than doing a full mirror and head check of the surrounding area. The cameras may also create a hazard when people rely on them to give an audible alert and fail to pay attention while the vehicle is in reverse. So, drivers continue to collide with objects and people behind them, even though the cameras reduce blind spots by as much as 90 percent.

In one survey, 61 percent of drivers indicated that they would pay extra to have the technology in their next new vehicle. However, by 2018, the back-up cameras will be a mandatory standard safety feature in new vehicles.