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You are here: Home / car / Improving Driver Visibility With a PEAK Back-Up Camera

Improving Driver Visibility With a PEAK Back-Up Camera

November 21, 2013 by Beeb 14 Comments

PEAK Back-Up Camera

Compensation was provided for this post.

I take driving very seriously. Automobiles can cause unimaginable accidents in a split-second, so I think everyone should approach driving with a little healthy anxiety. I’m very conscious of pedestrians while I’m driving, especially if there are children in the area – kids are often innocently oblivious to traffic, so it’s important to be as diligent as possible in case a child darts out in front of your car. I’m also aware of this when putting my car into reverse, since you never know when a pedestrian might be walking behind you – or, in a rural area like this, you might even have an opossum or raccoon skulk behind your car! No matter how much I look over my shoulder and in my mirrors, I never feel comfortable with what I can see; my “Blind spot” is probably the most unsettling aspect of driving for me.

And I’m not alone: Back-up safety is a prime concern for parents, since we all worry about little ones walking unseen behind a reversing car in a parking lot. There is currently a lawsuit being filed against the Department of Transportation regarding a 2008 law involving visibility standards and backup cameras; but if you’re concerned about visibility in your car, did you know that there’s something you can do about it right now?

When I learned about a product called the PEAK Back-Up Camera, I thought it was brilliant: This is a standalone camera and LCD screen that you can install in any vehicle. I test-drove a new car that had a backup camera a few years back and I thought it was awesome, but I assumed it was something you could only have if you bought a brand new car. It never occurred to me that you could pick up the unit by itself! I received a PEAK Back-Up Camera in the mail and was really happy at the prospect of better vehicle visibility.

I assigned the task of installation to Jai, who enjoys tinkering with electronics and cars. We had two main options for this camera: We could either put it in Jai’s 2002 Pontiac Grand AM, or in his Grandma’s 2002 Bravada. The PEAK Back-Up Camera mounts above the license plate, then transmits information wirelessly to the water-resistant LCD color monitor, which can be mounted on the windshield and gets its power by plugging into your cigarette lighter. Here’s a how-to video that outlines the process:

Depending on the type of car you are installing this in, it can either be an easy breezy 15 minute installation, or wind up being a project not for the faint of heart. Both the cars we considered for this fell into the latter category; ultimately, Jai thought it would be best to put it in the Bravada. What made this more complicated for us was the fact that Jai had to drill through a layer of plastic above the license plate in order to install the camera. In the Bravada, this involved removing the hatch liner. He took a series of photos documenting the installation to give us a visual of how the process was for him – I’ve captioned each one, so that you will know what you’re looking at:

Before installation

License plate light

Original license plate screws

The connection that leads to the license plate lights

Bolting the camera in place

Removing the hatch liner

The connection that leads to the license plate lights

Before drilling

Hole drilled

How I pushed the power wires into the license plate light connector

Once the camera was installed, you couldn’t see where the hole had been drilled – it’s totally hidden, so it looks really nice. Here is the finished camera installation:

Back-Up Camera mounted over the license plate

This is the camera on the windshield:

Back-Up Camera LCD Screen output

The camera is AWESOME! It works really well – it only activates when you put the car into reverse, so it’s not running constantly. It really helps get a picture of what’s behind you, as you can see from this photo, taken from our driveway. I know something like this helps me feel like I’ve got an extra set of eyes – we thought this would be especially great for Grandma, since SUVs have even more blind spots than smaller cars. She’s not sure how she will like driving with the wire hanging down from the windshield to the cigarette lighter – this isn’t a problem for Jai or I, so if she doesn’t warm to it we’ll go ahead and put it in our car. Now that we know the “Drill” for installing it – pun fully intended – it might not be as challenging next time. If your vehicle is designed in a way where you do not have to drill a hole to connect the camera wire, then this will be a piece of cake.

The PEAK Back-Up camera retails for $93.17 and can be purchased at Walmart, auto retailers and online – for more information on PEAK’s line of automotive products as well as their store locator, be sure to visit PeakAuto.com.

Do you have a back-up camera in your car?

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Filed Under: car, review Tagged With: child safety, driving, safety, safety tips

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About Beeb

Beeb is a British journalist living on the north Oregon coast. Blogging since 2008, she covers everything from coupons to contests in addition to running a network connecting UK bloggers with brands. In her free time, she loves to drink coffee, watch reality TV, and spend time with her fiancé, Jai. Join her on Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+BeebAshcroft/

Comments

  1. Angela says

    November 21, 2013 at 2:49 pm

    I agree, this is brilliant. I can’t believe I haven’t seen this gadget before now.

    Reply
  2. Pam says

    November 21, 2013 at 3:37 pm

    I had one of these in a vehicle I tested drove and I loved it. Made backing up so much easier!

    Reply
  3. Janel says

    November 21, 2013 at 4:14 pm

    Our van doesn’t have a backup camera and I’m always super nervous in the busy school parking lot. It’s so hard to see around all the cars going every direction and kids passing everywhere. This is AWESOME!! I had no clue there were options to add a backup camera yourself.

    Reply
  4. Melissa says

    November 21, 2013 at 6:25 pm

    Very easy installation! I think all cars need this!

    Reply
  5. Danielle @ We Have It All says

    November 21, 2013 at 7:21 pm

    Very cool, I always wanted a backup camera!

    Reply
  6. Jennifer says

    November 21, 2013 at 7:49 pm

    So cool!!! We have a built-in one on my hubby’s new car, but I miss it when I am in my truck!! Glad to know I can get something like this!

    Reply
  7. Ashley - Embracing Grace says

    November 21, 2013 at 8:25 pm

    That is incredible!!! I want one!

    Reply
  8. Michelle {Fun On a Dime} says

    November 21, 2013 at 11:11 pm

    Isn’t technology wonderful! I had no clue we could add a back up camera to our car. Nice!

    Reply
  9. brett says

    November 22, 2013 at 4:42 am

    this is on my wish list for Christmas.We have an older van and it makes me so nervous with kids around!

    Reply
  10. Brandy says

    November 22, 2013 at 7:30 am

    Oh this is really neat. I would love to have something like this to utilize.

    Reply
  11. Stacie Connerty says

    November 22, 2013 at 9:00 am

    This is great for people that don’t have them already in their cars. I have one in y car already and I absolutely love it!!!!

    Reply
  12. Marina says

    November 23, 2013 at 3:48 am

    I had this but gave it away to a friend who was scared to death because her teenage son had just begun driving

    Reply
  13. Stefani says

    November 23, 2013 at 12:06 pm

    I didn’t realize you could purchase these. I have rented vehicles with them but never owned one. How cool!

    Reply
  14. krista grandstaff says

    November 24, 2013 at 4:29 pm

    I really like how easily this was put in…and the safety feature it adds is well worth any time it takes.. It is VERY cool.. and has me seriously thinking about putting one in… I didn’t realize that was all there was to it!

    Reply

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