Radar For Safer Driving 484
KarmaOverDogma writes "The New York Times reports that in the next few years, auto manufacturers may look to use low powered phased-array radar in the back of cars, in combination with enhanced mirror displays, to help reduce accidents related to so-called 'blind-spots.' The system currently under devlopment is a result of a partnership between Valeo, an auto parts supplier, and Raytheon, a military contractor. They note that according to data from the NHTSA, In the last 10 years such (blind-spot) accidents led to 1.5 million injuries and caused more than $360 billion in damage in the United States alone. With an expected cost of around $500.00 (depending on the configuration), will this low-power radar system from the 1970's really help make driving safer?"
Do we need it? (Score:2, Interesting)
Radar? Better, cheaper, lo-tech solution. (Score:2, Interesting)
American drivers, as a rule, suck. One more reason I want to live in germany.
Re:Article Text/Psuedo-Mirror (Score:2, Interesting)
We spend all of this money on preventing car accidents... when smoking and obesity kills a lot more people.
At least in North Carolina cars will fly before we spend that money against smoking and obesity however.
Move the mirrors (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Just look over your shoulder! (Score:2, Interesting)
i agree with you, but nobody does it in this college town, they just come uver without looking. also, like the article points out, old people cant turn their necks. i submit that perhaps at this time in your life you shoud no longer be driving.
in a perfect world, people would just do like they were taught in drivers ed(yes, they would all take it) and wouldnt be so frikkin stupid. i think there is a definite use for this technology, tho im not sure people will accept it very well:this as they miss the other car's bumper by 6 inches
Re:Heads Up (Score:4, Interesting)
Like the turn signal I've seen on Ford Expeditions, etc.? If the warning icon is on the outside of the car, then it's got the added effect of being visible to other cars on the road. Someone else would know when they're in your blind spot because your mirror is warning them, too. Interesting.
Re:Convex Mirror (Score:2, Interesting)
military technology (Score:4, Interesting)
My oh my, but things were spooky back then. A good defense was considered a military advantage and harbinger of doom.
I guess the Cold War really is over. Now you can have PAR in the back on your Beemer to track incoming Hondas. OK, so maybe this is still about first-strike initiatives and counter-attack defense. I won't be worried until the Beemers and H2s start to carry surface-to-surface missles.
On a side note, "radar" used to be "RADAR" and was an acronym for something like "Radio Detection and Ranging". Funny how we co-opt technical terms and acronyms into the vernacular.
These sensors should display on the windshield.. (Score:4, Interesting)
Sure, it helps when changing lanes, but also when a ladder falls off of the truck in front of you and you have to make a spit second decision (no time to look up at your review) you can just turn away from the 'red'.
And if both sides are read, just hit the brakes and hope for the best...
Re:Just look over your shoulder! (Score:3, Interesting)
Anecdote: A few months ago on a busy three-lane interstate highway and after checking and rechecking the middle lane to pass a slower car, I narrowly avoided a collision with a car who came flying around a car in the middle lane to the left lane and back into the middle lane as I was changing lanes.
There are still instances where cars will drive diagonally from one lane to right in back of your car, hence, the term, "blind spot".
Re:Just look over your shoulder! (Score:3, Interesting)
I guess the "towing package" blind-spot radar would have twice as many radar arrays. When you hooked up something to tow, the software would switch to the 10-foot-longer radars. The designers would have to make certain assumptions about how long an item you were going to be towing (or give you a dashboard switch to choose 5', 10', 15' etc.)
Motorcyclists - lifesaver. (Score:5, Interesting)
Most car drivers on the other hand are lazy, blind, incompetent morons who are safe in the knowledge that they have 2 tonnes of steel safety cage surrounding them, being completely safe they don't need to check their blind spots, too much like hard work. Radar will only increase the *impression* of safety and will otherwise be utterly irrelevant.
What's needed are 5 year re-testable licenses like those the HGV drivers have to pass every few years.
Driving Schools. (Score:3, Interesting)
I know they teach this in the BMW driving schools. At my first event, I remember seeing one guy adjusting his by having a buddy stand behind his car, and move from right to left. The guy in the driver's seat would adjust his mirrors so that when the guy behind appeared on the left edge of the rearview mirror, he also appeared on the right edge of the left side mirror. (and the opposite for the right side mirror)
When you are on the track, you don't have time to look over your shoulder. Some guys also have long, stair-step like mirrors as a rearview mirror, so they can see to the entire rear and side of the car at a glance.
BTW, performance driving schools are a friggin blast! And don't believe all the ancient "yuppie" talk you hear about BMW drivers, the guys who take them to driving schools, SCCA, and races are hardcore serious about it. And it isn't just crazy fun, they teach you how to properly handle the car, be safe about it. I took my 88 M3 to a driving school with a Porsche club, and there was little instruction and seemed much more dangerous. But there is nothing like passing a $90,000 911. :-)
Rear-Ender (Score:3, Interesting)
It's almost a given that when you turn your head to look over your shoulder, the car in front of you will brake. By the time you look back, you probably don't have time to stop. Turning your head, refocusing, etc., takes way too much time at speed on a busy freeway.
You're safer speeding up a bit and moving into an open spot (or creating one) in the next lane.
nascar style mirrors (Score:1, Interesting)
The rear-view mirrors in nascar cars are special
extra-wide with angled segments that let you look
out the side windows and see much more of the rear
area than you can see with a smaller flat standard
mirror.
In the race cars, this is done to eliminate the need
for external mirrors which would cause more drag at speed.
there are web sites that sell similar mirrors for passenger cars like this one:
link [2link.net]
Re:Article Text/Psuedo-Mirror (Score:1, Interesting)
There is no mention of how much money is being spent on this effort and I am not sure how Raytheon can possibly do anything to reduce smoking or obesity. Further, since the technology comes out of a defense department initiative, "we" already spent the money to develop the basic technology. Someone who is not you is spending their money to convert this technology into something that might actually benefit you. This is a so callled "defense dividend"
Re:Article Text/Psuedo-Mirror (Score:3, Interesting)
What blind spot? No fancy radar required. Why do we need to go high tech when all we need to do is change the requirements for new vehicles to come with mirrors like this from the factory? Radar can fail, takes power, etc. A mirror
Yes, these do work. I've avoided quite a lot of dangerous merges, and been warned ahead of time when somebody's doing 100mph in the passing lane. It's worth checking into the availability of something like these (they are quite a bit better than the cheap round stick-ons) for your particular vehicle. These will fit 99.5-2005 Golf/Jetta and 98-200? (we don't know when the next major change will be) VW Passat.
The first time you accidentally cut someone off 2 feet in front of them because they were in your blind spot is the last, if you pay attention to the scare you got!
Re:Just look over your shoulder! (Score:2, Interesting)
The problem seems to me to be that getting a driver's license is way way too easy. I would argue that the failure rate on both the written/road tests on the first attempt should be close to 50% (based solely on personal observations of the way that people drive - please not: I live in NJ which I sincerely hope is not representative of the rest of the country because we would all be lucky to get to retirement age if everyone drives this poorly)
Anyway, a failure on the drivers test (road or written) should trigger a mandatory driver's ed class (paid for by the failee, not the governement) where we teach these folks one of driving's number one rules - DON'T DRIVE FOR EXTENDED PERIODS IN OTHER PEOPLE'S BLIND SPOT!!!!!
Finally, drivers should be forced to retake the tests every other license renewal period.
I know this is a bit off-topic but fixing people's behavior and then adding technology like radar will make us safer.
Re:This would be entirely unnecessary... (Score:2, Interesting)
different gadget needed (Score:2, Interesting)
NHTSA data also say that drunk driving accidents kill 17,000 people per year, cause 513,000 injuries per year, and cost $114 billion per year. NHTSA [dot.gov]
A $500 gadget that prevents a drunk driver from starting the car would have far better bang for the buck.
Wanna get rid of the blind spot? (Score:2, Interesting)