Transport Minister Marc Garneau has proposed new regulations that will require rear-visibility systems on all new cars sold in Canada beginning May 1, 2018.
Garneau made the announcement on Monday, at Le Trillium Public Elementary School in Ottawa.
“Among pedestrians, the most vulnerable are young children who are sometimes not as aware of the risks that vehicles pose,” Garneau said, flanked by students dressed as astronauts. “As today is Halloween, there is no better day to highlight the importance of safety and vigilance as so many children will be out on our streets and on our sidewalks.”
The transport minister said that he would like all Canadians to have access to the technology that may save lives and prevent injuries while backing up a vehicle.
“Once the regulation has changed it will be impossible to buy any new vehicle without this technology,” said Garneau.
As the price of the rear visibility technology decreased in recent years, Garneau said that “the time has come to ensure that every car is equipped with them.”
The proposed changes would align Canada with U.S. safety regulations, which have been on the books since 2014, aimed at improving safety, economic growth, trade and shipping on both sides of the border.
Garneau was joined by Ian Jack Managing Director of Communications and Government Relations at the Canadian Automobile Association as well as Edith Dumont, Director of Education for the Public School Board of Eastern Ontario.
Jack spoke to the small gathering of students, teachers and the press in the school’s playground and thanked the minister for his proposal.
“On behalf of our 6.2 million members from coast to coast, we’re very pleased to see this announcement today. We think that this announcement today will build on all the good work that the minister and the department of transport are doing, and that all of us together are doing on behalf of our children,” said Jack.
The amendments to the safety regulations would apply to new light duty vehicles with a weight of less than 4,536 kg, including cars, trucks, three-wheeled vehicles, multi-purpose passenger vehicles (such as the Toyota RAV4), small buses and low-speed vehicles (such as golf carts).
The regulatory changes will apply to Standards 101 and 111 in the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations.
“I’m not one for tricks, but I do like giving treats, and one of the best ones I can give this Halloween is to make rear-view cameras and displays standard equipment on all new vehicles, including base models. This helps children be seen and provides Canadians with one of the best safety technology systems to reduce back-over collisions,” said Garneau.
Rear-backup collisions accounted for more than 1,500 injuries between 2004-2009, including 27 fatalities.
