High-Tech Rear View Cameras for Buses

[hkskyline]

High-tech rear view for bus drivers
Mimi Lau
Hong Kong Standard
Friday, November 24, 2006



Citybus and New World First Bus are to spend a total of HK$4 million installing rear-view camera systems in their 1,600 buses by the end of next year following the recent spate of fatal road accidents involving reversing vehicles, particularly trucks and lorries.

The move comes after government statistics showed there have been an average of 185 road accidents involving reversing goods vehicles annually, accounting for 1.2 percent of the total number of traffic accidents.

The government is very concerned about the growing number of serious accidents involving reversing vehicles, including buses, Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao Sau-tung said recently.

But she said installing rear-view monitoring devices in vehicles to enable drivers to reverse safely has not been made mandatory in Hong Kong as most other countries have not taken this step.

Paul Li Kwong-wai, head of operations and engineering at Citybus, said the user-friendly system will provide bus drivers with absolute confidence while reversing vehicles.

The rear camera system, which was originally used to monitor luggage, has been in airport-bound buses since 1998, he said.

"Installing the system in airport buses has led to the number of accidents being substantially reduced. We anticipate that the objective of reducing the number of reversing accidents to zero can be achieved after the system is installed in our entire fleet of buses," Li said, after revealing the results of tests on the system on six non-airport buses over the past year.

A seven-inch color monitor, connected to a waterproof wide-angle camera, costs HK$2,500 and gives the driver a clear view of the rear of a vehicle even at night.

William Chung Chak-man, head of operations and planning at Citybus, assured commuters the extra costs would not be passed on to them.

A Kowloon Motor Bus spokeswoman said the company had also been testing a similar system on 58 buses since last year.

Democrat legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, who chairs the Legislative Council's transport panel, welcomed the move by the bus companies, saying they had set a good example for the transportation sector. He said the panel had advised the government to amend existing laws to make the installation of rear cameras on lorries compulsory.

Cheng said he plans to move ahead with a bill which will crack down on reckless drivers and improve road safety in the wake of the recent tragedies involving reversing goods vehicles.

Besides the mandatory installation of closed-circuit cameras at the rear of goods vehicles, Cheng has also recommended that a fixed fine be imposed on drivers who break the rules.

Six people have been killed in five traffic accidents involving reversing vehicles in the past few weeks - the most recent being a cleaning worker who was crushed to death between a goods loading platform and a truck.

[hkia]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

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But she said installing rear-view monitoring devices in vehicles to enable drivers to reverse safely has not been made mandatory in Hong Kong as most other countries have not taken this step.

What kind of stupid excuse is that? Do we have to follow? Can't Hong Kong lead other countries for a change?

Insurance companies can help by reducing the premium on those vehicles with the device installed.

[hkth]

Press Release from the NWFB:
Citybus and NWFB Retrofit Vehicle Reversing Camera Systems to Strive for Zero Reversing Accident