[Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act

Sat Dec 18 08:36:30 UTC 2010

in the case in point would the audible signal have warned the 2-year-old 
child? probably not!
chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Evans" <drevans at bellsouth.net>
To: "Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety" 
<quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 8:15 AM
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act


>
> Dear All,
>
> I do believe that cameras are a good idea, but I think that an audible 
> warning sound should also be mandatory as well and is a less costly and 
> easier fix that can be applied to all vehicles even now.  It only requires 
> and electronic beeper, some wire and a contact switch that makes contact 
> when ever the shift lever is placed in reverse.  It could even just be 
> placed in the same electrical circuit with the back-up lights.
> In the last 2 years, I personally have had 3 incidents where "quiet cars" 
> have nearly backed over me and one did strike me to the point that I had 
> to drop my white cane and jump upon the rear of the car to keep from being 
> run down.  My cane was sticking out in front of the car by the time the 
> driver stopped the car from my beating on the back window.
>
> The cameras will warn the driver, if they are watching and paying 
> attention, but an audible warning beeper, will take care of the other side 
> of the coin and warn people like me that a car is moving.
> I think that the problem will not be solved as best as it can be until we 
> address both sides of the coin.
> There will, I am afraid, still be accidents as drivers will still be 
> careless, as well as pedestrians will be careless or distracted or unable 
> to react in time.
> I also think that along with an audible beeper sound device that the rear 
> lights should also "flash" on and off with the beeper to warn those who 
> are deaf or hard of hearing and also warn approaching other drivers that 
> the vehicle is backing up.
> If we do all of this, I believe that we will have done all we can 
> reasonablely do to fix the situation until cars become more autonomist and 
> take over more of the driving functions and have "self awareness" of the 
> environment around them.
> I know as a engineer and futurist that this will happen in the not too 
> distant future.
>  Then things will be safer for all of us.
>
> David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.
> Nuclear/Aerospace Materials Engineer
> Builder of the Lunar Rovers and the F-117 Stealth Fighter.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "michael townsend" <mrtownsend at optonline.net>
> To: "'Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety'" 
> <quietcars at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 8:01 AM
> Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act
>
>
>> Once again another excellent post; not necessarily aimed at our audience,
>> but a more universal one, and we could all benefit greatly.  Thanks, Bob.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
>> On
>> Behalf Of Robert Wilson
>> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 5:27 AM
>> To: quietcars at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act
>>
>>
>> A week before the June 23, 2008 hearing, I first learned about the 
>> back-over
>> problem. Today, I came across the welcome result:
>> http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/li-boy-s-death-may-mean-cameras-in
>> -all-cars-1.2527253
>> * * * quoting from the article * * *
>> Greg Gulbransen thought at first that maybe he'd backed over the 
>> newspaper.
>> The pediatrician had gone out at night to flip his BMW SUV around so that 
>> he
>> wouldn't have to back out of his driveway in the morning when kids were
>> headed to school. As he continued in reverse, his headlights lit up a 
>> scene
>> that would change his life forever.
>> Gulbransen's son Cameron, 2, lay sprawled in the driveway. He had on blue
>> pajamas, was holding a blanket and was bleeding heavily from his head.. . 
>> .
>> "That's when life ended pretty much as I knew it," Gulbransen said
>> Wednesday. "Complete and utter devastation. I still can't believe it
>> happened."
>> Now, eight years after the October night in Woodbury when Gulbransen
>> accidentally killed his son, the federal government is taking comment on 
>> a
>> key provision of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act
>> that's meant to prevent such tragedies.
>> After the 60-day comment period, announced Friday by the National Highway
>> Traffic Safety Administration, automakers will be required to eliminate
>> blind zones behind vehicles that can contribute to deaths like Cameron's. 
>> In
>> practice, that means automakers will have to outfit new vehicles with
>> monitors that display to those driving in reverse a live image of the 
>> blind
>> zone. Such rearview cameras are already found in some luxury models.. . 
>> .Ten
>> percent of new vehicles must meet the requirement by September 2012 and 
>> 100
>> percent by September 2014. The federal government estimates that the move
>> will cost the auto industry as much as $2.7 billion and individual car
>> purchasers an extra $159 to $203 per vehicle.
>> Federal safety regulators estimate that in an average year, 292 people 
>> are
>> killed and 18,000 injuries occur due to back-over crashes. Some 228 of 
>> those
>> fatalities involve common passenger vehicles, regulators estimate, with 
>> 44
>> percent of those deaths being children under 5 and 33 percent adults over
>> 70.
>> * * * end quote * * *
>> This safety legislation received near universal support because it 
>> applies
>> an effective solution to a well documented and too often fatal problem. 
>> It
>> is timely because rear view mirrors are losing their effectiveness as
>> tougher roll-over safety rules require stronger roofs that further 
>> obscure
>> visibility. SUVs and pickup trucks are a particular hazard because their
>> higher than normal body style and lengths lead to especially poor
>> visibility. But no car or vehicle is immune.
>> Universal backup cameras make a lot of sense which due to economies of 
>> scale
>> will become much more affordable. This is the application of new, video
>> technology to replace the century old, and barely adequate mirrors.
>> Bob Wilson
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>
>
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