FMCSA OKs Stoneridge Camera System as Alternative to Mirrors

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Dan Ronan, Transport Topics  /  December 28, 2018

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Dec. 26 announced it has issued a five-year exemption to Stoneridge Inc. to allow its aftermarket MirrorEye mirrorless digital camera and sensor system to be installed on trucks and motorcoaches as an alternative to traditional mirrors.

Under current law, trucks and buses must have two outside mirrors positioned to show the driver a view of the highway to the rear, and the area along both sides of the commercial motor vehicle.

In announcing its decision, FMCSA said, “The Agency has determined that granting the exemption to allow use of the MirrorEye system in lieu of mirrors would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level of safety provided by the regulation.”

The system works with five cameras, sensors and three digital displays. Along the right and left A-pillars are two 12.2-inch high-definition monitors, and another 7-inch display that is mounted high in the center of the cab. The displays are positioned within the driver’s line of sight to improve their reaction time as they scan their panel.

In 2013, Glynn Spangenberg, the co-founder of original developer Spangenberg Partners, demonstrated the mirrorless camera and sensor system to American Trucking Associations’ Future Truck Committee. From there, his company took the idea to eventual manufacturer Stoneridge, where a prototype was developed and the two companies reached a sales agreement to market the concept to the trucking industry’s equipment aftermarket.

More than a year ago they presented the system to FMCSA and requested the agency consider an exemption to the mirror regulation and allow trucks and buses to operate with their system and without mirrors.

Speaking to Transport Topics, Spangenberg called the decision historic and praised FMCSA for “adapting to the rapidly evolving vehicle safety and automation capabilities of the trucking industry.”

FMCSA officials also agreed with Stoneridge’s assertion that the all-weather cameras and sensors perform better than mirrors in rain, snow and ice, and low-vision conditions. Spangenberg said tests have shown that the mirrorless system decreases drivers’ head movement and the need to looking outside of the cab.

By removing the mirrors there is also less aerodynamic drag on the vehicle and fuel efficiency will improve by 2% to 4%, Stoneridge says.

Veteran trucking industry consultant Randy Mullett, of Mullett Strategies in Washington, D.C., told Transport Topics FMCSA’s decision is a victory for technology.

“I think the big change isn’t going to be day-to-day driving in good weather conditions, but it’s going to be in those lousy conditions, it’s going to be at night, and it’s going to be in tight quarters when they realize I can always see the back end of my trailer,” Mullett said. “Think about that as eliminating blind spots, not just reliant on the blind spot radar detector, but you’ve got a camera doing it, that can pan and coordinate with those blind spot radars. This is really a great leap forward in driver-assist technology and I think makes us all better drivers.”

Since 2017, Maverick Transportation, J.B. Hunt and Schneider National have been testing the technology. Spangenberg said those three companies have logged more than 2 million miles using the mirrorless system and their findings concerning the improvement in a driver’s overall situational awareness were included in the application submitted to FMCSA.

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