Blind spot monitoring systems dangerous for motorcycles
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 3:52 am
I just came across research from the Californian section of the AAA ("Hi, I am Arne and I would like to be able to drive a car safely with road side assistance." All:"Hi Arne") (Sorry, silly joke.) They looked into the safety of blind spot monitoring systems in new cars. Apparently these systems are too slow to respond to fast cars overtaking you but more importantly, they spot motorcycles 26% later than a full size sedan. Which means that if you are next to a lazy *ss driver that might not look over his/her shoulder, your distance to the car is about 14% shorter than if you were a full size sedan.
In laymen terms, that probably means they will just crush you in their blind spot because the light never told them you were there...
I have recently driven a Volvo with a similar warning system and it is interesting, but I personally find it annoying with lights coming on and off even when I don't want to change lanes. So, for me it is the look over the shoulder every time. What do you guys think?
(Oh, and that link gets you the research PDF. There is a news article as well, but if you are outside the US the AAA does not want you to know what is on their websites...)
In laymen terms, that probably means they will just crush you in their blind spot because the light never told them you were there...
I have recently driven a Volvo with a similar warning system and it is interesting, but I personally find it annoying with lights coming on and off even when I don't want to change lanes. So, for me it is the look over the shoulder every time. What do you guys think?
(Oh, and that link gets you the research PDF. There is a news article as well, but if you are outside the US the AAA does not want you to know what is on their websites...)