What is a Reverse Camera?

A reverse camera is a special camera that’s mounted to the rear of the car, usually above the license plate, to improve your rearview. When you drive your vehicle forward, you can clearly see almost everything in your peripheral vision when looking out the front windscreen, but when you are reversing into a parking space or have a trailer, your vision is restricted behind, making it difficult to park in tight spaces.

Evidence shows that reversing cameras can help car owners avoid accidents involving backing into invisible objects or—worse—a small child or animal invisible from the seat of the driver. Once you have added this safety feature, you will be able to park your car almost anywhere with ease and have peace of mind.

Top 7 Reverse Camera Benefits

Reverse cameras, also known as rearview cameras or backup cameras, have become increasingly popular over the last couple of years, and come pre-installed with a lot of the newer vehicles today, depending on the package you purchased.

So let’s take a look at the top 5 reverse camera benefits for your vehicle.

1. Reverse Cameras Saves you money

Car parking is an inevitable fact of life. Sadly, it’s a skill a majority of people find hard to masterfully. Estimating the distance between your car and another one behind you is a challenge, even if you boast years of driving experience. The number of accidents caused by drivers in these circumstances keeps panel beaters busy nationwide, and auto insurance rates higher than they may otherwise be.

By adding this safety tool, you reduce the chances of being involved in crashes to an absolute minimum. Aside from the fact that these cameras will reduce minor accidents, your insurance company may give you a discount for adding such a safety feature.

2. Reverse Cameras Keep you and others safe

Research shows that 20% of all accidents occur in parking lots. Most of these accidents involve children and small animals. These children are too young to understand any better and their guardians, unfortunately, reverse over them as they don’t have a clear view of the rear.

Small animals such as cats and dogs often run behind reversing vehicles without the knowledge of the driver. Backup cameras attached to the rear of the vehicle have been shown to be effective at aiding drivers in avoiding these minor accidents while reversing.

On average, every year 7 children aged 0-14 years are killed and 60 are seriously injured due to driveway run over incidents in Australia.

When at home, Reversing Cameras are extremely important when backing out of your driveway especially if you have young family and pets.

3. Reverse Cameras Makes it easier to hook up trailers

Trailers come with large rear-view mirrors to give drivers a larger and clear view of the road. Although these mirrors have been found to reduce accidents on the road, turning your head to look around while hooking up your trailer does not always allow you to see everything around you.

Reverse cameras provide onscreen guidelines to help trailer drivers when there’s no one to guide them and also help track drivers gauge distance from various objects in their path. As well as making it easier to hook up a trailer, rear cameras help eliminate blind zone as these drivers back up.

4. Reverse Cameras Assist Your Driving

Rear cameras give an easily accessible view of the car and might warn you if a potential crash is detected. The main benefit of these cameras is that it makes it easier to view a difficult-to-see spot around the car and take corrective measures as a result. Normal reversing requires you to turn your head in a bid to have a clear view of the rear.

This is not only uncomfortable but also risky. With reverse cameras, you don’t have to crane your neck. The technology enables you to face forward, with your hands tightly on the steering.

5. Reverse Cameras Make Changing Lanes Easier

Changing lanes is a risky maneuver on the freeway. Research shows that unsafe lane changes are the primary cause of car accidents, side-swiping or hitting other vehicles in head-on collisions. Reverse cameras are particularly useful to track drivers who often switch lanes or urban drivers who regularly parallel the park. Backup cameras provide drivers with a good view of the area directly behind the vehicle.

And because they give drivers a clear view to either side of their car without having to turn their heads, they are useful to the older driver, who might lack the flexibility needed to turn and check the blind spot.

6. Reverse Camera Help Protects the driver on the road

Depending on the type of Rear View cameras, some have recording devices built-in, which is extremely handy to record on-road events such as accidents and traffic crimes. With this documentation, car accidents can aid prove fault if the video evidence is allowed in the court. They may also stop or prevent crime if the police use them to find crucial evidence in the process.

These videos can also be beneficial with insurance. If you have video evidence, your insurance provider will settle your claims within a matter of days. The existence of these videos can also be used to report careless drivers, dangerous drivers, and distracted drivers.

7. Reverse Cameras Can Help Prevent Fraudulent Activities

Having a rearview camera system on a car can help prevent fraud. There are some dishonest drivers who will deliberately cause a car crash then put the blame on the other driver. They might try to extort cash from the victims or fake injuries to obtain money from insurance providers.

The backup cameras provide real evidence of what exactly happened. These videos also help protect the driver who might be falsely accused by police officers for the purposes of soliciting a bribe.

As well as having evidence of his driving before being stopped, the driver will also have the recorded conversation.

Final Thoughts

Clearly, reverse cameras offer countless benefits. With models to fit most vehicles, SUVs, RVs, and trucks, a backup camera is a valuable safety tool for any vehicle on the road. But irrespective of how functional these reversing cameras are, realize that they are not a substitute for having your two eyes on the road.