WASHINGTON — While federal regulators consider changing the rules to allow cameras as a permanent option for rear visibility in trucks, carriers have been given another temporary option for such devices in the meantime.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration granted a five-year exemption to Convoy Technologies Inc. to allow carriers to install Convoy’s Electronic Rear View System (ERVS) camera monitor system (CMS) as an alternative to two rearview side mirrors required by federal regulations.
Convoy told FMCSA earlier this year that mounting its system would maintain a level of safety that is at least equal to that achieved with the mirrors, and the agency agreed.
“FMCSA has reviewed Convoy ’s exemption application and has determined that its ERVS CMS exceeds both the FOV [field of view] required by [current regulations] and the standards of rear-vision mirrors currently installed by manufacturers,” FMCSA stated in a notice published Tuesday.
Convoy’s rear-vision camera system consists of six cameras: two assemblies each with two high-definition cameras mounted on each side of the truck cab with the option for one additional rearview camera per assembly.
Each camera has a specific FOV and is enclosed in an aerodynamic package that provides protection against environmental conditions. Drivers are provided clear rearview images by means of internal monitors that eliminate blind spots created by conventional mirrors, FMCSA noted.
The agency acknowledged concerns voiced in public comments filed opposing the exemption. Opponents warned of potential electronic system failure of Convoy’s cameras.
However, “FMCSA notes that the ERVS CMS is designed with redundancy in the event of camera failure such that if one of the cameras within the camera assembly were to fail, the system automatically adjusts the view of the interior monitor for that side of the vehicle to a full screen view of the remaining working camera,” the agency stated. “Furthermore, if the entire camera assembly on one side were to fail, the functionality of the other side remains unaffected.”
FMCSA also pointed out that it received “numerous positive comments” in support of similar camera-based mirror system exemptions it has granted since 2019, including to Stoneridge Inc. (NYSE: SRI), Vision Systems North America, Robert Bosch LLC and Rosco Vision Inc.
NHTSA rulemaking pending
Revising rules to allow cameras as a permanent option to traditional side mirrors has wide support based on comments received by federal safety officials five years ago.
An Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2019 generated close to 600 comments, most of which were in favor of the plan.
The rulemaking was in response to a 2014 petition filed jointly by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Tesla to allow electronic cameras to replace outside rearview mirrors on cars and a similar petition filed in 2015 by Daimler Trucks North America for heavy trucks.
The rulemaking is currently pending at NHTSA in the “analyzing comments” stage, based on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s latest rulemaking agenda.
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