Backup Cameras Save Kids' Lives, Study Says

FRIDAY, Sept. 26, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The number of kids hurt or killed by a reversing car dramatically dropped after backup cameras were required in new vehicles, according to a new study.

Cases of children severely injured by a car in reverse fell by half following the 2018 federal mandate requiring backup cameras, researchers will report Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Denver.

There also was a 78% drop in children killed by cars backing up, researchers found.

“Our study demonstrates an important association between the federal mandate in 2018 requiring all new vehicles be equipped with a backup camera, and the reduction in both rate and severity of pediatric backover trauma,” researcher Dr. Natalie Drucker, an assistant professor of pediatric surgery at UTHealth Houston, said in a news release.

Backover crashes cause about 210 deaths and 15,000 injuries each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Most of these accidents involve children, who often are too small to be seen using rearview mirrors.

For the study, researchers analyzed data for children younger than 5 involved in a backup accident between 2011 and 2024.

They identified 71 children treated at a pediatric trauma center, as well as another 28 found in a case list maintained by the advocacy group Kids and Car Safety.

Of the trauma center patients, 53 were involved in their accident prior to the mandate and 18 after it went into effect, researchers said.

Overall, a 62% drop in backup accidents occurred following the mandate, results showed.

Drucker noted that many older vehicles still lack backup cameras. Efforts should be made to install the devices in these cars, possibly through government subsidies, she said.

“While this is exciting, necessary progress toward injury prevention in a vulnerable population, these events continue to occur and thus demand attention and continued advocacy efforts to promote the safety of our children,” Drucker said.

Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has more on keeping kids safe around cars.

SOURCE: American Academy of Pediatrics, news release, Sept. 26, 2025

What This Means For You

People without backup cameras should consider one in their car, as it can prevent a serious or fatal accident.