Transport Canada has posted their plans to make back-up cameras mandatory in all new cars and light-trucks beginning in May of 2018. The plan follows in the steps of US regulations passed in 2014, which require the cameras for 2018.
While most new vehicles have rear parking sensors or cameras already available, they frequently are only on higher-specification, higher cost trim levels. The new rules covering rear visibility would bring the safety feature to nearly every vehicle built. The change applies to cars, trucks under 4,536 kg gross vehicle weight rating, and even to three-wheeled vehicles like trikes and low-speed vehicles like golf carts. Fortunately, trikes and low-speed vehicles shouldn't actually need a camera, as long as rear visibility meets the requirements of the new rules.
Transport Canada used the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) research on back-up collisions which showed that parking sensors, which beep to alert the driver of objects, were not quick enough to respond, or sufficiently reliable in their warnings. For that reason, NHTSA ordered cameras for use in the US and Canada is following suit. The requirement will be for all cars and light trucks manufactured after May 1, 2018.
From 2004 to 2009, there were an estimated 27 fatalities and 1,558 injuries every year in Canada caused by vehicles reversing. The new cameras are expected to help reduce this significantly. Transport Canada says that the numbers are estimates, because since "a significant proportion of back-over collisions occur off-road (i.e. parking lots, driveways and private roads) and that off-road collisions are not part of the National Collision Database, it was difficult to get exact number of casualties that result from such collisions."
The other main driver for the change is regulatory parity with the US market. Transport Canada said in the proposal that "the objective of this proposal is to align the Canadian and United States safety regulations, to provide Canadians with the same level of protection under the law related to back-over crashes offered to residents of the United States and to satisfy vehicle manufacturers' call to eliminate regulatory differences between Canada and the United States." Differing regulations between the two markets has been brought up in the past as causing higher prices for cars in Canada.
Now that the regulations have been posted in the Canada Gazette, there will be a 75-day comment period for feedback from the public and industry.
