I need a paper written for my Research and writing class

VANESSA WOODARD

Professor; Rachel Gruskin

Research and Writing

November 23, 2017

Should cars and trucks be required to use backup cameras?

In the modern day world, car accidents have been one of the major causes of death. This means that road accidents has been a thorny issue that should be addressed in order to save the many lives that are innocently lost due to such incidences of backing up accidents by not having backup cameras. From a report covered by the World Health Organization, it is clear to say that road accidents have caused a lot of losses in terms of human lives. It is estimated that around 1.25 million people die annually from backing up accidents. This particular research further indicated that most of these people who die from road accidents are the normal road users such as the cyclists or pedestrians. Therefore, it can be said that road carnage has led to the loss both skilled and unskilled labor and thus robbing world nations men and women of integrity committed to making their lives and those of their loved ones better.

Road accidents have a number of effects on the various aspects of life. These particular effects can be felt directly or indirectly. This means that the effects of the backing accidents cannot be measured, this is because accidents affect various aspects of life and thus the effects are not contained in one particular aspect. To start with road accidents have a number of socioeconomic effects, this includes the loss of a workforce and thus this leaves gaps in the economy which may take a large period of time. In some instances, children may lose their parents to road accidents and thus they end up losing a caregiver, this means that road accidents can put the future of a child at risk since the child might have depended on the parent for school fees. Moreover, road accidents have been known to lay a large burden on the society on various sectors of the economy (World Health Organization, 2009).

To start with, road accidents cause a great burden on the health system. This is mainly because most of the victims of the road accidents lead to overcrowding in hospitals and this drains the healthcare staff and also on the medical resources that could have been used for other medical purposes. Secondly, road accidents also lay a large burden on the employers. This is because the costs of treating road accidents may cause the employers a lot of money in insurance claims, time lost that could have been used at work, production losses and maintenance costs to name a few.

Moreover, research has also indicated that road accidents have a great effect on the households. This can be confirmed by the fact that households undergo a lot of pain and also a lot of financial strains when caring for one of their own who get involved in road accidents. Additionally, some people end up losing their work after being involved in accidents, this is mainly because road accidents leave them vulnerable to a state where they cannot continue with their day to day normal activities. In instances where the victims are unable to recover fully, the family must adapt to new changes in order to cope with the tragedy. Moreover, accidents are also associated with psychological effects, in most cases the victims of road accidents experience trauma and this interferes with their ability to continue leading their normal lives in a normal way.

Moreover, car accidents have been known to have an impact on the environment. In case of accidents, harmful gases are released to the atmosphere and this greatly affects our environment and thus contributing to the aspect of environmental degradation. Additionally, the release of these gases into the atmosphere can also cause chronic diseases. These gases may be poisonous to the flora and fauna. Many diseases have come up as a result of harmful gases that are inhaled from the air causing loss of lives and plants, even animals. Sometimes accidents occur in water bodies and there are large oil spills as a result. This contributes to the death of aquatic life as well. Another major impact on the environment is the affair on landfills. When accidents occur, most insurance companies find it easier to replace damaged vehicles than to repair them. The damaged vehicles are taken to dump sites where they may take years to decompose. This ruins the aesthetic value of the environment.

The increase in car accidents have led to a lot of negative effects and due to this particular fact, policymakers have tried to come up with effective ways of dealing with road accidents, Although the proposed methods cannot entirely help to curb car accidents, it is estimated that these particular measures will drastically help in the reduction of the number of car accidents being experienced on our roads. This particular aspect of road accidents led to the adoption of the policy’ Improving global road safety’, the establishment of this policy is to help tame and reduce car accidents on our roads. An example of an initiative that has been proposed to deal with car accidents is the introduction of backup cameras on cars and trucks. The main idea behind this initiative is to try and help the drivers to have an adequate view of the traffic. It is estimated that the use of these backup cameras will help reduce instances of car and truck accidents on our roads.

Part2

Back up or rearview cameras can be described as tiny cameras that tend to be attached to the back of the car or a truck. These particular cameras have been there for quite a long period of time, this is because they started being designed in the 19th century. The invention of these cameras began during the Motorama show in Detroit when Buick introduced the Centurion car. This car had a television camera attached to its rear that dispatched information of the traffic to the driver. The camera transmitted its images to a television screen placed on the dashboard in the car. Sadly, the car did not make it to the production stage. However, this discovery has led to better and more efficient versions of the rear camera in recent times. These cameras are becoming an essential part of automobiles in the industry because of how they have reduced the occurrence of road accidents.

. Research and also experiments in the use of back up cameras have proven that these particular devices can be used to reduce car and truck accidents. The use of side mirrors and the rear mirrors have been known to create a significant blind spot that the driver cannot be able to see. This means that at times the drivers become unaware of what is happening to them and this can lead to accidents. A recent report indicated that an approximately 200 people die from back over a type of car accidents. Therefore, the only way to deal with such blind spots can only be through the use of back up cameras. Moreover, the backup cameras can be used to reduce accidents that involve young children. In most of the times, young children believe that the driver can see them even when they are behind a car. However, in most of the scenarios, the driver is not always aware and they end up knocking the young children down (McMahon, & Bingle, 2006).

Research has shown that the use of back up cameras is an affordable option that can be used to reduce and deal with car accidents. In this particular market, one will find a variety of these cameras that are being sold at an affordable price. Policy makers are trying to ensure that all the cars and trucks manufactured in the next decade will be fitted with these particular devices (Youi.com.au, 2017).

A study conducted by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety showed that the use of back up cameras are better in accident prevention when compared to sensors. From this particular study, it is clear that rearview cameras have over a number of years prevented car accidents when compared to the parking sensors. This study showed that drivers who have not been using the back or the rear cameras have been involved in accidents for a number of times. It was estimated that cars and trucks that had rear cameras avoided accidents by the highest margin. The study also went further to reveal that the use of parking sensors did not in any way or remarkably reduce car accidents. This particular research indicated that sensors tend to give the drivers a false sense of safeness and thus the use of rear and back cameras can only be seen as one of the surest ways of reducing car and truck accidents. The evidence from this particular research also showed that the use of back up cameras can greatly help in mitigating car accidents. This particular research showed that most of the drivers who tend to use rear cameras have high chances of avoiding accidents. In any case, where a driver with a rear or a back camera gets involved in a car accident, it can be said that this is as a result of negligence. This means that policymakers should come up with policies where drivers should be taught how to use these types of cameras will greatly help improve the efficiency of these cameras (Braid, Broggi, & Schmiedel, 2006).

In the year 2014, the Congress passed a law that required all the cars and tracks to be equipped with backup cameras by the end of 2018. This particular move was in order to ensure that the number of car and truck accidents is reduced and help in saving and protecting the lives of the American citizens. Since, the implementation of this particular requirements, most of the new vehicles are equipped with the backup cameras. The result of the use of these cameras has been positive since the backup cameras have great help in the reduction of road accidents. Moreover, accidents caused as a result of back over accidents have also reduced drastically and has reduced by about ten percent. However, for these backup cameras to be fully effective drivers have been requested to use them along with the side mirrors, this is in order to ensure all the risks are eliminated and that the car or truck is at a zero risk of causing an accident (Jacobs, Aeron-Thomas, & Astrop, 2000).

Additionally, a recent report showed that these backup cameras have been able to reduce road accidents by a rate of approximately 18 percent. It was also observed that this reduction favored most of the old drivers and not the young drivers. This is a clear indicator that most of the young drivers are ignorant and they do not hide to the various traffic rules. This shows that backup cameras are effective in preventing accidents and also back crashes.

References

Braid, D., Broggi, A., & Schmiedel, G. (2006). The TerraMax autonomous vehicle. Journal of Field Robotics, 23(9), 693-708.

Jacobs, G., Aeron-Thomas, A., & Astrop, A. (2000). Estimating global road fatalities.

McMahon, M. A., & Bingle, R. L. (2006). U.S. Patent No. 7,005,974. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2008). NHtSA. Traffic safety facts 2000: Pedestrians. (Report DOT HS 809311).

World Health Organization. (2009). Global status report on road safety: time for action. World Health Organization.

Youi.com.au. (2017). Benefits of Rear Cameras on Your Vehicle. [online] Available at: https://www.youi.com.au/youi-news/benefits-of-rear-cameras-on-your-vehicle [Accessed 27 Nov. 2017].