No matter how common it is in media and popular culture, the idea that training and experience will always win out over technology is a fallacy. There’s a good reason to never bring a knife to a gunfight, even if you’re highly skilled with knives – it’s simply a much less advanced weapon. While a lone swordsman can hold his own against opponents with high-end artillery in the movies, that’s not how it goes down in real life. Similarly, science has been unable to corroborate any claims that meditation and rigorous mental control over the body is a replacement for vaccination or antibiotics. While there’s a level of mind over matter, the principle is pretty limited in scope.
That’s why being an experienced driver with lots of practice reversing and parallel parking is no excuse to avoid using a rear vision camera. No matter how well-honed your senses are, a reversing camera kit provides you with a level of visual awareness and scale that’s out of your reach without one. As a compounding factor, your instincts and perception are usually calibrated to your regular vehicle. If you drive something new, it can take a while to adjust – especially if you’re going from a smaller car to a large one or vice versa, or even changing the kind of vehicle entirely. Reversing a caravan is a very different thing from reversing a car.
A reversing camera helps to smooth the transition while you become accustomed to a new vehicle, and keeps you safer in the long run, too. Another thing to remember is that not everyone has a lot of practice reversing. For a new driver, a camera can provide a huge boost to safety and confidence, and it’s much more sensible to get a camera for an older vehicle than to shell out to buy and insure a vehicle with an inbuilt camera. Whether you’re a new driver or a veteran, getting a camera is the right decision.
