A lot of us learned about "blind spots" during Driver Training classes. A lot more did not. Sadly it doesn't get covered or taught enough, because so many drivers are oblivious to these spots. Whether it's the driver that cruises right there for miles, slightly behind your rear doors, in the lane to the left or the right of you, or the driver who never takes a second to look there before changing lanes, it's scary.
I saw some NHTSA statistics that said that every 90 seconds there is a lane change accident in the US, and that every 9 minutes someone is injured or killed in one of these. That seems like WAY too many to me!
They are finally developing and marketing a Mirror product that will show the driver if another car is in one of his or her blind spots. They have also had a Mirror product that helps the guy in the blind spot know that a driver is about to change lanes into his path. Both are way over due, but way cool!!!
By attaching LED signal lights to the side view mirrors, you are able to see clearly that the vehicle you are slightly behind is thinking about changing lanes in your direction. These bright turn signal lights are both much brighter and a bit faster, all the better to alert you of their intentions.
Most recently, by utilizing multiple radar sensing devices on the vehicle, little icons are displayed in the inside rear view mirror showing that another car is in YOUR blind spot. I have also seen such technology in the in-dash GPS systems.
What a great technological advance!! At long last, our auto mirror can be used to help us see what's around us. And they can be used to alert those around us of what we're thinking of doing!!! Now the real challenge is still directing the driver's attention to such things and away from their iPhone or iPad!!! While we learned to keep our eyes constantly glancing at all 3 of our mirrors, I think that's a dead issue in Driver's Ed these days. And whether you learned it or didn't, most don't practice it. We all have to be SO aware of what's going on around us while we're speeding down the Interstate at 70 to 80 miles an hour. At such speeds, everything happens in an instant. I'm a believer that these new Mirror devices will prove to be fender and life savers. My hat's off to the latest car mirror technology!!!
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