Keep kids out of the driveway!

A straight-forward press conference to announce a price cut for the Mazda3 small car has turned into a  PR blooper for Mazda Australia managing director Martin Benders, who defended the lack of a reversing camera in the base model Neo by arguing children shouldn't be in driveways in the first place.

The Neo, along with the rest of the 3 range, now comes standard with reverse parking sensors but it is the only model in the range not to have a standard reversing camera.

Asked if he didn't see a reversing camera as a safety aid to prevent small children being run over, Benders said: "I don't see the driveway as being a place where kids should be walking around in the first place.

"I expect people who drive cars take care and attention about how they drive cars. Reversing cameras are not infallible. They are more an aid and so are reverse parking sensors."

Later in a one-on-one interview with motoring.com.au, Benders conceded his comments would be interpreted harshly.

"I understand that and that's bad luck. We get sucked into this idea that we need to have these things and we are turning people into dumbed down," he said.

Reversing cameras are set to become mandatory in the USA in 2018, where an average 210 people die every year after being reversed over by a motor vehicle. A third of them are children.

In Australia, the NSW state government has led a push for mandatory rear view cameras to be incorporated into Australian Design Rules, although so far without success.

But reversing cameras are now becoming more common in cars in Australia, even in the mini-car class where the Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris hatches have the technology standard.

However, the Toyota Corolla with which the 3 vies for the honour of Australia's top selling car, does not offer a standard reversing camera across the entire range either.

Benders said the decision on whether to fit a reversing camera to the Neo came down to cost and a lack of customer demand.

"I can keep adding things ad infinitum, but the price will go up ultimately.

"I don't have a string of customer comments or complaints saying 'where is my reversing camera'. We think reversing parking sensors do the job and the car and we think visually the car offers a good package."

The Neo also doesn't have a suitable screen to replay the camera images, which would then require further modification and cost, Benders explained.

"We would have to put a half-arsed thing that becomes part of the rear vision mirror... is that satisfactory? We all have to make decisions.

"We used to have these discussions about putting one or two airbags on base models ... these things change over time and in the end we have to meet a market."

Benders then expanded his argument, saying that too much reliance on safety equipment was sending the wrong message.

"It's there as an aid, it doesn't take away the drivers' responsibility to pay care and attention, and if we think that's what we have to do then we have a real problem.

"I think I have made the comment before that we are so focussed on giving people too much assistance we are actually taking their mind off the way they drive.

"We just have to be careful about all of that."