Advanced Driving Hub

gannet wrote:something else I've noticed as a cyclist is blind spot warning lights in the wing mirrors of cars I'm overtaking... how long before drivers of these become reliant on that little red/amber light and stops doing shoulder checks? Then having problems in cars without them...

Or when the bulbs fail

kfae8959 wrote:

waremark wrote:It is difficult on a slope to transition after stopping from footbrake to handbrake without a slight irritating roll-back. How do others cope?

Does that happen if you apply the handbrake before you release the footbrake?

David

I wonder if he means that little drop the car does when you transition from holding the car on the footbrake to the handbrake?

It's to do with the fact when you're holding the car on the footbrake, there's four places the car is being held in place (all four wheels), but if you apply the handbrake, it only acts on the rear two wheels, meaning there's no resisting effort from the front wheels so the whole car shifts slightly due to the forces not being in equilibrium for a moment.

I'm wording this badly but I think that may be what Waremark means.

But also, I have a personal story regarding technology over-reliance and how it's taught me something.

I drove the Yeti for a year, and used the parking sensors on the rear all the time.

I picked up my car, and three hours later, reversed it into something which resulted in a bit of paint damage on the rear bumper (a few chips) but I've sorted the paint damage now, and you can't tell it's happened.

The reason it happened is simply because I wasn't looking behind me, as I'd gotten into the habit of using the parking sensors to warn me of obstacles near me.

Ever since, I've been very diligent about looking behind me, which has resulted in my parents getting annoyed when I prefer to use my eyeballs to judge distances behind me more accurately than the parking sensors, meaning I've managed to get closer to other cars than I would've ever done if I was still reliant on the parking sensors.

So yeah, a sudden reminder that perhaps, parking sensors aren't the greatest thing in the world, and your eyeballs coupled with some mirrors are much more effective.

gannet wrote:something else I've noticed as a cyclist is blind spot warning lights in the wing mirrors of cars I'm overtaking... how long before drivers of these become reliant on that little red/amber light and stops doing shoulder checks? Then having problems in cars without them...

Apparently there are blind spot warning lights on the (lease) car I'll be picking up in October. My reaction on being told what this system did, was "That is interesting. I've always wondered where the blind spots are with properly set mirrors and a willingness to actually look"; I guess I'll be finding out .

I think my new car has some form of hill assist. I parked it on the road yesterday and when I went to move, it seemed to be stuck. Initially I thought a wheel was up against the kerb, but that proved not to be the case. Weird sensation!

ancient wrote:

gannet wrote:something else I've noticed as a cyclist is blind spot warning lights in the wing mirrors of cars I'm overtaking... how long before drivers of these become reliant on that little red/amber light and stops doing shoulder checks? Then having problems in cars without them...

Apparently there are blind spot warning lights on the (lease) car I'll be picking up in October. My reaction on being told what this system did, was "That is interesting. I've always wondered where the blind spots are with properly set mirrors and a willingness to actually look"; I guess I'll be finding out .

come and drive my z3 with the hood up
huge blind spots which could swallow a 38 tonner!
you can adjust the mirrors as much as you like, but...

having said that, with the hood down visibility is fantastic - and with the hood up you definitely have to build a picture of what is going on, and practise your observation

Alasdair

akirk wrote:come and drive my z3 with the hood up
huge blind spots which could swallow a 38 tonner!
you can adjust the mirrors as much as you like, but...
Alasdair

You'd have thought type approval wouldn't allow such and then there's this;

"Cars you can’t use

Some cars can’t be used in the test because they don’t give the examiner all-round vision.

You can’t use any of the following:

BMW Mini convertible
Ford KA convertible
Toyota iQ
VW Beetle convertible

Check with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) before you book your test if you want to use a:

convertible car
panel van"

I regularly drive my daughter's Toyota IQ and don't find it any worse than other cars I've driven. It's true there's next to no view over your shoulder but is no different to any car style van I've driven.

The rear view out many cars is poor with it being almost a letterbox once aerodynamics and rear head restraints eat the view. My Civic even has the spoiler across the back window.

martine wrote:So as some of you may know I help on the "Driver Alertness' course (NDAC) for drivers who would have been prosecuted for driving without due care.

Last week I had someone who when faced with a hill start in my car, panicked and exclaimed: "I can't to this!". After me talking her gently through and her still stalling/rolling-back after the 2nd attempt, I used my dual controls to help her with the clutch and away we went. I wasn't expecting this as her driving otherwise was a good average.

When we pulled-in to talk it through, it seems she's lost the 'knack' (her words) as her own car has 'hill-hold'! A great example of modern tech in some cars potentially de-skilling a driver. Hill-hold is still on a minority of cars and when it's on nearly all I guess it won't be a problem but until then...

With learners, I get them to hold the car on the clutch, then sueeze the clutch pedal gently to induce a gentle roll back, then ease the clutch pedal gently up to stop the roll and then easing up further to gently creep the car forward, all this without the use of any gas. I also get them to do this without using the handbrake. It doesn't seem to have worn the clutch too much as its covered 98000 miles with no problems

Nigel.

ancient wrote:Apparently there are blind spot warning lights on the (lease) car I'll be picking up in October. My reaction on being told what this system did, was "That is interesting. I've always wondered where the blind spots are with properly set mirrors and a willingness to actually look"; I guess I'll be finding out .

I have them on a car with quite good visibility. While I could turn the system off, I don't because I would feel a bit of a chump if I turned them off and then made a lane change error. Seeing them come on does not bother me.
If you indicate for a lane change when there is a vehicle in the blind spot that isn't really blind the system bleeps and flashes. I experience that quite often in urban situations. Generally, I am only indicating precisely because I know someone is there.

GTR1400MAN wrote:The rear view out many cars is poor with it being almost a letterbox once aerodynamics and rear head restraints eat the view. My Civic even has the spoiler across the back window.

As was already said, it depends on how one aligns the mirrors. Anyhow, blindspot detection is to the side of the car (where the really tricky blindspots are) rather than directly behind.

Myself and especially my colleagues see a lot of clientelle in all sorts of car. Normally, what works best is to open the mirrors out to a point where both do not display the sides of one's own car and have at least the passenger side mirror (which in many cars cover a smaller field of vision) set even further so that there is just a bit of overlap between the outboard side of the interior mirror and inboard side of the side mirror.

It's not a perfect solution, but in most cars you won't miss anything bigger than a scooter within more than one lane's width to either side. There can be issues with seeing directly behind when the field of vision through the interior mirror is obstructed, but it's easier than to tilt the head slightly towards the mirror than it is to rotate it around the shoulder to the window.