Is It Possible To Add A Blind Spot Monitor Onto A Vehicle

If you don't properly adapt your car's mirrors or if your vehicle of option has thick window pillars, you may discover that there'southward a blind spot simply over your shoulder where cars behind yous can hide. A blind-spot monitoring system can help watch your dorsum then that you don't find yourself trading paint when changing lanes.

Blind-spot monitoring systems are among the virtually mutual modernistic driver aid technologies, being constitute on the options list of many mid-tier or upkeep models. The tech is sometimes shortened to BSM or called bullheaded-spot alert (BSW). I tend to call information technology a bullheaded-spot data system (BLIS), as it was past Volvo, which originated the tech back in 2007 for use on its and Ford's vehicles.

The new Volvo XC60 features BLIS with Steering Assist and tin can actively guide the SUV dorsum into its lane if it detects that you're about to collide with another vehicle.
Volvo Cars

What is it? and why?

This technology uses ultrasonic sensors located on the car's flanks to detect when a car is in your blind-spots. Most BLIS implementations volition warn by illuminating a notification low-cal on or virtually the side mirror on the appropriate side of the vehicle.

If yous activate your turn signal while BLIS is triggered, yous'll commonly also get an audible beep or tone to let yous know to look twice before changing lanes.

Most basic systems will permit you know if a motorcar is currently in your blind-spot, but more advanced versions volition let y'all know when a vehicle is near to be there. Lane Change Assist, equally Hyundai calls it, extends the range of the side sensors equally much as three to five machine lengths back and monitors the speed of oncoming vehicles. With this information, the system can sort of predict the hereafter, alerting you to an upcoming car in your blind-spot before it'southward even there.

2016 Mazda CX-9 blind spot monitor — Blind spot information systems are increasingly a "must-accept" feature for large trucks and SUVs with long tail ends and poor rear visibility.
Mazda

What are the limitations?

Typically, bullheaded-spot systems only work at speeds in a higher place 20 to 35-ish mph. This prevents faux positives on city streets but tends to simply make the tech useful at highway speeds. And as I mentioned, the audible alerts work only if you actually use your turn signal, which some people don't always utilize.

And so, continue in mind that the technology is no replacement for an old-fashioned glance over your shoulder before changing lanes. E'er look before y'all leap.

Rear Cross Traffic Alert

Yous'll frequently see blind-spot systems packaged with and so-chosen rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA) systems considering they use the same ultrasonic sensors. RCTA monitors the blind-spots of your car for traffic, just from the sides at depression speeds when reversing rather than at highway speeds.

When backing up, sometimes your view is blocked by other vehicles or obstructions, making the blind-spot over your shoulder even larger. RCTA can let you know a motorcar is coming downward the alley in the parking lot when you're reversing out of a spot or when bankroll out of your driveway onto the street.

Here also, the warning is most oftentimes an audible tone, but General Motors has made very interesting utilise of haptic feedback with its Safety Seat Alarm, which vibrates the seat to grab your attention.

Who does it best?

BLIS and rear cross-traffic alerts are increasingly becoming "must-have" technology on larger SUVs and cars with poor rearward visibility and the next evolutions of the tech are already here.

Volvo is at the forefront of blind-spot monitoring tech -- information technology figures, they invented it -- with its BLIS with Steering Assist. Featured on the new 2018 Volvo XC60, BLIS with Steering Assistance can actively guide the SUV out of impairment's way and back into its lane if information technology detects that you're about to collide with another vehicle when changing lanes.

Ford and Toyota/Lexus, for case, accept taken the adjacent logical step of adding automatic braking assistance technology to their nearly advanced RCTA systems. And then, if you're backing out of a parking spot and another vehicle is budgeted, the organization will sound an alert then, if y'all ignore the warning, automatically restriction before you move into a possible collision path.

Be certain to cheque out the rest of our guide to avant-garde commuter assistance engineering science to acquire more about how modern and futurity cars help make driving safer and more convenient.