Rear view requirement compliance effective May 1

Starting May 1, vehicles with a 10,000-lb or less gross vehicle weight rating must comply with a new safety standard on rear visibility.

The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 111 rear visibility regulation includes requirements for image size, response time, deactivation, durability and default view and liner time. All applicable vehicles must be equipped with a rear view device giving an unobstructed 20-degree, ten-by-twenty-foot field of view immediately behind the vehicle. The view image must automatically start within two seconds of backing-up, deactivate after the vehicle goes forward and have minimal lag. 

This regulation especially affects upfitted vehicles fleets, and those completed from chassis-cabs and cutaways, who may need to relocation rearview cameras based on the regulations.

The NTEA, the Association for the Work Truck Industry, released a conformity manual and kit on the regulation, which can be purchased on their website. 

While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is not requiring system suppliers to certify, it is important for fleets to ask for compliance statements for the systems they purchase.