US federal regulators are expected to announce plans this week to require automakers to install rearview cameras in all new cars by 2014, The New York Times reported.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to send its final version of the proposed regulation to Congress on Wednesday, after first proposing the rule change in 2010.

Government statistics show that 228 people of all ages die in the US each year after being hit by passenger vehicles backing up, while roughly 17,000 people are injured.

"We haven't done anything else to protect pedestrians," Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington, told the newspaper. "This is one thing we can do and should do."

In a draft paper, regulators said it would cost automakers between $160 and $200 to install the cameras and viewing screens in each new vehicle -- as much as $2.7 billion per year overall.