The U.S. Transportation Department issued a long-delayed rule that will require automakers to build rear-view cameras into new cars by May 2018.
Gentex Corp., the Zeeland, Michigan-based maker of rear- view visibility systems, rose as much as 3.5 percent, the biggest intraday rise since December.
The U.S. was three years overdue in issuing one of the most expensive pending rules identified by President Barack Obama’s administration, with costs to automakers estimated at as much as $2.7 billion. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the Transportation Department, issued a proposed rule in 2010 after Congress passed legislation requiring one.
About 15,000 people are injured and 210 people are killed each year in backover crashes, David Friedman, acting NHTSA administrator, said in a statement. Children under 5 years old account for 31 percent of those fatalities, and people age 70 and over account for 26 percent, NHTSA said.
“Rear visibility requirements will save lives, and will save many families from the heartache suffered after these tragic incidents occur,” Friedman said in the statement.
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