The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has given its approval to a request allowing trucking companies to use advanced video camera technology instead of traditional rear-view mirrors.
On February 2, 2024, the FMCSA announced its decision to extend a regulatory exemption requested by Stoneridge, Inc., a company based in Michigan. This exemption permits truck drivers to utilize Stoneridge’s MirrorEye® Camera Monitor System (CMS) in lieu of conventional rear-view mirrors.
Back in 2019, Stoneridge was granted a five-year exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), which typically mandate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) to be equipped with two rear-vision mirrors. The recent decision by FMCSA renews this exemption for another five years.
In its initial petition, Stoneridge argued that the MirrorEye camera system offers truck drivers a broader field of vision and eliminates blind spots, thus reducing driver fatigue by minimizing the need for excessive head movement compared to using traditional mirrors. Additionally, the company claimed that vehicles equipped with MirrorEye cameras would achieve better fuel efficiency due to their aerodynamic design.
Stoneridge reported that since 2019, over 1000 vehicles in North America have been fitted with the MirrorEye system, accumulating an estimated 100 million miles without any reported incidents attributed to the system.
Furthermore, Stoneridge presented data to FMCSA indicating that a prominent fleet observed a 65% decrease in accident costs over 24 million miles driven with the MirrorEye system compared to 134 million miles driven without it.
The FMCSA concluded that extending the rear-view mirror exemption for another five years is likely to maintain a safety standard equal to or higher than that achieved without the exemption.
For more insights into the functioning of the MirrorEye system, refer to the accompanying video.
