Does NHTSA recommend rearview video systems?
Yes. As of May 2018, NHTSA requires this lifesaving technology on all new vehicles. We recommend you look for RVSs that meet NHTSA’s performance specifications when shopping for a vehicle.
The actual requirement is a series of rear visibility tests that are done on a vehicle through the full range of seat adjustability.
A rear view camera allows any vehicle to meet the regulation regardless of vehicle styling and design. They are cheap, too.
But they are not strictly required. Your average 1980s sedan probably would meet the requirement as long as it had mirrors on the driver and passenger side.
You're not wrong but in practice they're all but required because the corner that fuel economy and cabin strength requirements box you into is a corner with really high belt-lines and really poor visibility. You couldn't build something that's the shape of a 1990s sedan today.
- Alcohol interlock installation facilitation and attention detection
- Emergency stop signal (aka autonomous braking)
- Intelligent speed assistance (aka adaptive cruise control)
- Lane keeping assist
- Reversing camera or detection system
All these systems require the car to be aware of its surroundings, i.e. require some "intelligence" in the control systems.