Exactly. Report is clear and FAA came to same conclusion years ago (I believe it was an aftermath of DC-10 Sioux City crash, if memory serves me well):
- Making car seats a requirement when flying could raise air fare prices by 45% according to an FAA study. In Canada, this would affect just under 4 million families with small children. Because family travel is among the most price sensitive, families would choose to drive to their destination rather than pay for a seat for their young child to be in a mandatory aircraft CRS.
- Parents choosing to drive would add 164 million more vehicle kilometers of highway travel per year on Canadian roads. This would translate into at least 10 premature highway deaths in the next decade in Canada, but might save one infant life by air.
This of course holds up only when there is other transportation mode available (driving). Flying overseas might not - but twin aisle A/C should have a number of appropriate cots available and parents sat near these. (It works on several airlines, as I had a chance to see, but will work less and less as single aisle A/C are flying across the oceans more and more. I was really surprised few years ago to find out I`m gonna fly across the Pacific with my family from Christchurch to LAX in a 737! (with 3 stops in between - and longest leg was with MAX-gulp)
I believe the middle-way solution to this is additional loop belt, attached to adult`s belt.
When I travelled with my then 1 yr old son (10 yrs ago), I was well aware of these risks and demanded a loop belt.
Requiring babies to be put in a separate seat (with car seat/adapter) looks as an obvious solution, but on a wider perspective it is a wrong decision.
Regarding this thread topic: after 30 years in aviation may I say that the design of fuel truck involved was inviting disaster-human factor was left behind of efficiency/productivity. External cameras+screens are only a crutch to a user unfriendly design. (how much are cameras night capable (NVG/IR, near IR?, How are lens cleanliness ensured...?) And wouldn`t be better to install a modified FLARM warning device?