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San Francisco Woman Leads Fight For Rear-View Cameras In Cars

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Within two years, all passenger vehicles sold in the United States could be required to have rear-view cameras to help drivers back up more safely, something one San Franciscan has been fighting for for years.

Federal regulators were expected to ask Congress this week to require the cameras become standard equipment, but that decision has been delayed until the end of the year.

KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:

Janette Fennell, who founded kidsandcars.org said that the measure could save the lives of over a hundred children a year.

"It makes absolutely no sense that anyone would get behind the wheel of a 3,000 pound legal weapon and go in reverse and have no idea what's behind them," she said.

According to Fennell, studies showed backup alarms similar to ones used in trucks don't work for passenger vehicles.

"Children either didn't react to them at all or they were attracted to them," she said. "They were thinking it might be the ice cream truck. They were very ineffective."

Fennell said that the average car has a 28-to-30 foot blind zone behind it and adopting a federal rear visibility standard to cover it shouldn't add more than a hundred dollars to the cost of a car.

Fennell has also fought for internal trunk release latches after she and her husband were kidnapped and locked in the trunk of their car.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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