Three Safety Gadgets
Safety is a prime consideration when shopping for a new vehicle. To this end manufacturers are often trying to include items that are in the grey area between gadget item and safety item. Possibly the best definition of safety is that the item in question has stood the test of time on its contribution to positive driving. Good examples are power steering and automatic transmissions: they are not needed, but make driving easier, therefore safer. Gadgets are like power rear window openers on vans. They do not make driving safer, easier or better.
Three Safety Gadgets now available on select vehicles are:
1) Lane Departure warnings. Intended to keep you from wandering out of your lane, these systems work best when lanes are clearly marked which means you still can’t substitute them for paying attention to what you are doing, particularly if the lane markings are poor.
2) Blind Spot Warning systems. Intended to let you know if someone is in your blind spot while driving. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has a standard for setting outside mirrors that will eliminate blind spots, but few driver education instructors ever teach this. As a result, we must have chirps, beeps and thumps to remind us to look over our shoulder when changing lanes.
3) Right Side Blind Spot Camera. This system is currently used by Honda and shows a full side view of the car along with marking showing mid and end points of the car. It provides a real time view of what is beside you and behind you on the right. This is the most useful system of all as it has uses in cornering for views of pedestrians. At present the camera is only active when the right signal light is on.
Time will tell if items such as these become true safety items or remain gadgets.
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