What Is The Difference Between A Rear Camera And A Parking Sensor?

A back up (parking) sensor will make a beeping noise inside the vehicle as it gets closer to an object while backing up, giving the driver an idea of how close they are to avoid backing into something.

A back up (rearview) camera is a video feed from behind your vehicle that shows the driver a feed on the video console. They allow the driver to have a clearer idea of what is behind them, and how close, making it easier to back in to a parking spot.

Rearview cameras have been proven to be far more effective at preventing drivers from getting into an accident and backing into people or objects as they back up.  In a recent IIHS study, 111 volunteers were asked to participate in a study without being informed of the purpose of the study.  They were asked to back out of a parking space as a foam cutout of a child-size crash test dummy  was placed either stationary behind the vehicle or was moved into its rear path from the drivers side as the vehicle was backing up.  In cases where the cutout was placed stationary behind the vehicle, there were four times as many collisions as there were when the cutout was moved into the vehicle’s rear path.

The test results were a little unexpected when nearly 75 percent of the drivers using both parking sensors and a rearview camera  hit the cutout while those using only a backup camera avoided the most collisions, with 56 percent of them hitting the cutout.  Drivers using only parking sensors collided with the cutout more than 90 percent of the time and drivers using no backup assistance hit the cutout 100 percent of the time.

IIHS suggests that sensors may give drivers a false sense of security, resulting in them paying less attention to the camera display.  IIHS also stated that the sensors may be more useful if they offered a larger range and faster warning ability.

In our experience, the backup (rearview) camera is a lot more appealing for more than just the safety differences listed previously.  A camera can often be installed in a fashion that retains a factory appearance and requires little to no modification to the vehicle whereas parking sensors require drilling holes in the vehicle bumper and sometimes additional time and cost to paint in order to retain a factory look. 

No matter your needs or preference, Streamline Audio can help you with any safety systems for your vehicle. Give us a call or email, we're happy to help!