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Ed Yeates ReportingDrivers of new model family vans and SUV's may soon have eyes in the back of their heads. The new product, and others like it, are about to make the traditional center rear view mirror in vehicles obsolete.
Rear view mirrors as we know them really don't let you see a lot behind your vehicle. But imagine looking up as a new helpmate suddenly pops out one side of the mirror.
"Safe Kids," "Spot the Tot," you've heard the campaign over and over again in this state. Folks here are driving home a message: before we drive, before we even back out, look for that someone or something that's behind you, out of your line of vision.
Theron Jeppson, Injury Prevention Program, State Health: "On average each year we have about 65 reported cases of children under the age of ten being backed over or run over either in a driveway or a residential parking lot."
But out with the old and in with the new. VideoMirror, as it's called, pops out of the side of your mirror automatically, every time you gear into reverse. Your line of vision remains the same because you can see both the broader, longer view from the conventional mirror and the immediate low end back side as well, via a tucked away camera.
VideoMirror won a special technology award at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It will come as part of a special package on Hummers in a few months. Because these products are so efficient, they'll most likely appear as standard equipment on other vehicles very soon.
Great, says Theron Jeppson with the State Health Department. But even with this new line of sight, he still wants another backup before we backup.
Theron Jeppson: "I still think it's important for the parent or driver to get out and walk around, because the camera doesn't."
The new center mirrors are about a third the current cost of available camera systems.
