LaneFX blind spot exposure system lets you see your sides - UPDATED
Blind spot detection systems that warn drivers when a vehicle is playing hide-and-seek in your blindspot using visual and audible alerts have already debuted on production vehicles. Volvo's got such a system on the new S80 and Audi on its Q7. Driveaware is a third-party company that took a different approach than the OEMs when developing its new product called LaneFX. Rather than detecting an oncoming vehicle, LaneFX automatically moves the corresponding power mirror outward to expose a vehicle's blindspot when the turnsignal is activated. The kit can be universally installed on any vehicle with power mirrors and also features ParkFX that tilts the mirrors downward when reverse is engaged. Check out a video of the LaneFX in action here.
UPDATED: Missed an important qualification that LaneFX does not automatically move a side mirror, but only when the turn signal is activated. Also, LaneFX does not claim exclusivity on the technology that allows up-down movement of the mirrors when the car is put in reverse. Oh yeah, the company's name is Driveaware, not DriveAware. Now we return you to your regularly scheduled reading...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eyad 2:09PM (6/07/2006)
How can they patent the ParkFX feature? I had that on my '98 Range Rover!
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gbh 2:21PM (6/07/2006)
Or, just set your freakin' sideview mirrors *correctly*, so that they show what's in your blind spot. This is possible on about 99 out of 100 cars/trucks. Ugh.
Then, using those mirrors in combination with turning your head, voila!
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spikey 2:24PM (6/07/2006)
I thought this type of technology is worthless from consumer's standpoint. If you just adjust the outside mirrors so that all three rear view mirrors form a panoramic view (outside mirrors barely overlapping the inside one in view), you've eliminated the blind spot. And I've been triying to educate those around me to setup the outside mirrors like this to eliminate the blind spots. But it's frustrating to see all these people with their outside mirrors pointed towards the car where you see half of your car in them and cause all kinds of havoc when they try to change lanes. Why the heck do you need to see your car in the rear view mirror???
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matt 3:20PM (6/07/2006)
you know i have the same thing on my car, but it only cost me $2. spot mirrors. they're great. this new device only lulls drivers into being more ignorant of what is going on and more irresponsible. they should sell these things and have a gift certificate for a drill sergeant to sit in your back seat for a week and yell at you whenever you don't check your blind spots. that'd fix the problem really quickly.
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TheOne442 3:33PM (6/07/2006)
Yeah, I second you idea Matt, I can only imagine. "I am gunnery sergeant Hartman your senior drill instructor...” you know the rest!
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iQuack 4:21PM (6/07/2006)
Some above posts suggested setting side mirrors correctly.
Here's how:
First, forget how we learned to adjust our outside mirrors by plopping behind the steering wheel and turning the mirrors so that we just saw the side of our car looking back at us in the mirrors.
Instead, adjust the driver’s side mirror by resting your head against the driver’s side window and then turning the mirror so that you just see the side of your car.
Once this is set, move to the center of the vehicle and turn the passenger side mirror so that you can just see the side of your car from the center of the vehicle.
That’s it. You won’t see your own car in either mirror, yet what you will see is far better. Cars behind you show up as usual in the inside rear-view mirror above the dash, but the instant the car leaves your field of vision from the rear-view mirror, the outside mirror picks it up. No blind spots; no delays; no wondering where that car about to pass you has disappeared to; and no waiting a few seconds for the car that you just saw in your rear-view mirror to show up in your outside mirrors.
All three mirrors work in harmony with one another, and the blind spot has been eliminated!
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Ryan 4:36PM (6/07/2006)
Anyone remember the base model Saturns from the early 90's. They did not come with a passenger side mirror, wow that was taking advantage of every available federal law!
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Corey W. 5:38PM (6/07/2006)
I guess this is adding onto the above posts about mirror adjustment, but while driving, if you're paying attention to what you're doing, you would also realize you're driving in someones blind spot.
This gadget seems to be just another tool to compensate for our lack of respect for other drivers or stupidity when it comes to blind spots.
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icerabbit 6:15PM (6/07/2006)
A high-tech solutions where none is really needed.
How about simply a static no-blind-spot mirror like the kind which are standard on certain cars in Europe! The last 1/4 or so of the mirror towards the outer edge, to left or right of a little indication line resp., is curved slightly and gives you a great view of the traditional blind spot.
No electronic gizmo. No tiny $2-10 additional spot stick-on mirror.
Just a neat standard size side mirror that eliminates the blind spot.
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Steve 8:48AM (6/08/2006)
Ryan -- My first car was an '87 Toyota pickup. There was no passenger side mirror on that either (it was a factory option!)
icerabbit -- My girlfriends' Saab 9-3 has that feature. Pretty nifty once you get used to it.
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Steve 8:50AM (6/08/2006)
Oh yeah, I forgot my own comment.
This technology is a good idea, but it has one major flaw. People actually have to USE their blinkers for this to activate the mirrors. Not many people do that, do they?
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Rocky 9:11AM (6/08/2006)
As already stated in the other comments, this device is USELESS. It all goes back to poor driver training, when your high-school driving instructor/PE coach/health teacher taught you how to adjust your mirrrors. He didn't know any better, either.
You should NOT be able to see the side of your vehicle in your side-view mirrors--the only exception being if you don't have a rear-view mirror (moving van, etc.), or if it is blocked.
But, hey, if someone found a way to make money off of people's ignorance, then more power to him.
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