BoatBanter.com - View Single Post

Mr. Luddite

On 4/1/2016 8:04 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 01 Apr 2016 18:37:10 -0500, Califbill
wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 1 Apr 2016 14:45:33 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

The Altima has a nice feature .... maybe all cars have them now ... I
don't know. It has sensors in the outside rear view mirrors that
detect if another car is pulling up along side you on the right or left.
There are small lights inside the car near the mirrors that light up if
a car is detected. If you put your blinker on while a car is detected
on the side that you intend to make a lane change, a chime goes off as
well as the light to warn you. The rear facing camera is pretty cool
also. When backing and turning the steering wheel, an outline of where
you are backing moves with the steering wheel movements. There's also
an alternate view that gives you a wider screen shot.

I have rented several cars with backup cameras and I never find myself
looking at it. I learned with mirrors and that works fine with me. I
suppose if you have kids running around it might be handy. I just have
a hard time making myself drive on TV.
I am OK with a warning buzzer but I definitely DO NOT want my car
deciding when to hit the brakes or stop me from turning the wheel.
There have been a few times in my life where doing something the
computer might think was unsafe was the only way to avoid getting
killed. It only takes one.

I like the backup cameras. See if a cart or short people behind the car or
truck. My Chevy 2500 does have a blind spot behind the tailgate. Camera
is nice for that.

I guess I drove a truck with nothing but mirrors. It just looks like
something else to break, providing very little for someone who looks
around.
Maybe it is good for hitting a trailer hitch or something but that is
not that big a deal for me. A truck tag should have a few dents in it
;-)

I've always used the mirrors for backing with the truck and it's a must
for backing the van/mini bus I drive. However, the design and shape of
many of the new cars today make a back up camera very nice to have. The
old method of putting your arm up on the front passenger's seat back and
craning your neck around to look out the back is difficult due to the
high seat backs and head rests on both the front and rear seats, plus
the camera gives you a view right up to the rear bumper that you can't
see with mirrors or by turning around to look backwards. The image on
the newer cameras is excellent and the display in the Altima is 7 inches.

Then again, I can understand your reluctance to embrace them. I
wouldn't expect someone who still uses Win 98 to accept something
as radical as backing up a car using a camera. :-)