TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER (TBC) FAILSAFE USING DETECTION CAMERA

Systems and methods enable a failsafe for a trailer brake controller (TBC), by using a camera to detect braking of the towing vehicle. The methods can include using a vehicle-facing camera mounted to a trailer to detecting light emitted from rear brake lights at the towing vehicle. Then, the methods can determine whether the brakes of the towing vehicle are being engaged, based on the light detected by the vehicle-facing camera. Also, a TBC failure can be determined, and as a result, a trailer brake activation signal can be communicated at the trailer side, as a failsafe to activate the brakes of the trailer.