The subject of "back-over accidents" is discussed in the November 28 - December 4 Bloomberg Businessweek article titled "The Price of Preventing Back-Over Deaths."
"Back-over accidents" are those that happen when a vehicle inadvertently hits, or runs over, an unseen person as the vehicle moves in reverse (i.e. "backs up".)
Often times, these accidents occur because the person behind the vehicle is in the vehicle's blind spot, and, as such, is not visible to the driver.
The Bloomberg Businessweek article discusses the costs and benefits of implementing warning and detection systems, such as rear-view cameras, to prevent back-over accidents and deaths.
An excerpt from the article:
Each year, about 292 people die and 18,000 are injured in back-over accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. By yearend the agency is expected to issue a regulation requiring rear-view cameras on all new automobiles sold in the U.S. starting in 2014. NHTSA says the cameras will cut the number of deaths by half, to 146 a year. Yet the auto industry is questioning the prospective rule, calling it an example of overregulation by the federal government. NHTSA estimates it will cost automakers as much as $2.7 billion to install the devices on 16 million cars every year, which works out to about $18.5 million per life saved.
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