chris j vurnis

Hello:

I would like to rant and rave about something here... can anybody explain if my simplistic views is not correct??


I always wonder why blind spot mirrors aren't standard equipment on every new car... You can get them at any auto store for a couple of dollars and they allow so much better visibility around the car... they even help with seeing curbs when parallel parking...

I saw a news story that automakers want to put an LED in the driver and passenger mirrors that activate when an on-board radar system detects a car in the blind spot... I am dumbfounded to understand why such costly systems must be implemented when a $2 dollar mirror does the same job... The LED solution still doesn't let you actually see what is beside you... Being able to actually see what is close to the rear of your car to the left and right is a lot more useful... as in the example above... And now I hear about radar adaptive cruise control... so the car slows down automatically if you get too close to another car... What is wrong with the "decelerate" buttons that are commonly placed on the steering wheel on most new cars... it's simple and it works... Are top-end luxury car drivers really that lazy to move a finger?


I don't know... I think it is sad that automakers have to devise extra radar systems with alarms and bright flashing lights to save inattentive drivers too occupied with their cell phones from hurting people...

ZuMBLe

iTrader: (1)

I'd have to agree with you. But I guess they feel that some people wouldn't be comfortable with using these mirrors. They distort the image. Some people are just dumb. Maybe its a legal issue. I have one of those panaramic rear view mirrors. And I think its great. It lets me see a much wider view out my rear window. And I can see my right side blind spot. Its not much bigger than the stock mirror either. I think all cars should have that. But I guess some people may be confused by the slight distortion or something. Maybe they should just offer these things as add ins in with the car. Like you buy the car. They include a set of mirrors. If you want to put it on fine. If not, fine.

ZuM

Micah95GLE

Carmakers already equip every car with anti-blindspot technology. It's called "adjustable mirrors". If you adjust your mirrors correctly, you won't have a blind spot. But anyway, mirrors should never be used as a substitution for turning your head and getting direct confirmation of what's around the car before making a turn or lane change.

thanjp

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Supa Lao

iTrader: (1)

I too agree w/ Micah95GLE. I've been taught from drivers ed to just turn your head and check your blind spot. I do that all the time.

Vitaly O.

I think that all that new high tech stuff is so people would have to move less in the car so they can relax and enjoy the road but I think its just a way for people to charge more for the car.

JimW

Do this:
Get in the car, and adjust your seat the way you normally would. Then lean your head over towards the drivers side window, with your ear approximately 1 in from the glass. Adjust your mirror so that you can see the side and the rear of the car, as well as the road behind you. (adjust it the way you would normally would, just place your head close to the glass)
Then move your head to the right, the same distance that you moved your head to the left (lean towards the passenger side of the car, so that you have moved as far to your right as you did to your left. Adjust the right side mirror.
When you return to your normal upright position, adjust your rear-view so that you can see the road behind you.
Now your side-views will show you the side of the car (as they are designed to) and the rear view will show you the road behind. You should now have no blind spot.
Of course, you should always take a quick glance to either side before changing lanes.

Vic

i'll just slap on one of those BIG round mirror's on top of my side mirror =) maybe i'll even gain some HP out of it..yeh!
Vic

chris j vurnis

Yeah... the image is more distorted and the "OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR" really holds true in this case... So it does take getting used to...

That's why I scan both the larger door mirror and the small blind spot mirror... I don't like the concept of turning my head to see my blind spot because then I have no vision of what is happening in front of me... If I move my eyes to look at the door mirrors, I can still be able to see potential obstacles in front of my car ( i.e. someone in front of me jams the brakes just as I am checking the mirrors)...

And you can adjust the door mirrors to totally cover the blind spot... but then it dramatically cuts down visibility at other angles... you can't see traffic very well in adjacent lanes farther back from you... Maybe it works better for people of different heights than me... given my seating position and height, I can't set the single door mirror up to see both the blind spot and other areas at the same time...

But in this day and age of insane lawsuits and product liability lawyers, I think automakers and maybe dealers are always afraid of the folks with no common sense that can't understand the advantages and potential limitations of components on a car... So potentially advantageous components are not readily offered because many people might not use them properly... So cars are actually engineered to be sandbagged for bad drivers who get some hot shot lawyer to sue for 17 trillion dollars because they didn't know how to drive and hurt themselves because of it...

Carmakers must take away capability because many drivers will end up not using the capability responsibly...

Micah95GLE

Yeah, that's why all cars are set-up for understeer from the factory- even AWD and RWD cars. The manufacturers reduce their liability for accidents at the expense of performance.