Should Cameras Be Allowed to Replace Mirrors? - Gov't Wants Your Feedback
 

Allowed? Sure. To each their own, and frankly it’s silly that we have backup cameras from the factory but not to replace regular mirrors. I inherently have less trust that a camera will work as intended than a shiny piece of glass, but I’m a Luddite. My Civic feels high-tech to me, let alone my wife’s spaceship.

I'd still feel more comfortable relying on mirrors, but for those who are OK going only with cameras I believe they should be allowed to do so.

That article outlines the pros and cons nicely. I prefer my rearview camera backing up under most conditions because it gives me more confidence children aren't behind me.

By the time the law is changed, we'll have been in autonomous vehicles for 5 years already.

Maybe I need more practice. The backup cam in our van completely trashes my backup skillz, so I back as I normally would and ignore the stupid thing.

It was and still is disorienting to me. I use it first to verify no children or obstacles are in the way, then rely on looking over my shoulder. Then I use it again when I'm getting close to something.

I'm completely disoriented trying to use it to back up in a trailer. If I thought very hard, I could figure it out, but it doesn't flow naturally like looking over my shoulder. I don't have to think while looking over my shoulder because I've practiced it so much that it's a muscle memory type of task.

Unrelated- I was surprised to learn recently from several women that proficiency in backing up a trailer is attractive/impressive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO-PWSfDONw

That’s another thing - I have put too many 53’ trailers into a spot using mirrors and cranking my neck out of the drivers’ window, I have developed a nasty habit of not checking through all of my glass anymore. It’s actually weird to be able to see out of the right of a car.

I find any kind of backing or other automotive/transportation proficiency attractive. My wife, though, has none of those skills :D

Yeah, I find women that drive a stick get a boost in my estimation of interest/attraction of them.

I almost never use the backup cameras on the cars I drive that happen to have them. But it's a nice feature for newer drivers and those who aren't as confident backing up. Backup cameras are great for hooking up trailers and backing up with trailers, but they should never replace lookout out the window and seeing what is actually out there. The same goes with rearview camera "mirrors". My minimized side mirror setup poses no safety risks because I actively check over my shoulder before changing lanes. Mirrors and cameras don't increase safety if a vehicle operator relies solely on them and not on common sense.

With that being said, rearview cameras would be nice for multiple reasons, mainly because cameras have the potential to allow for a greater field of vision than that provided by a mirror. Images could be rendered for more realistic display, eliminating the need for "objects in mirror are closer than they appear."

Honda's Lane Watch system honestly could replace side mirrors. It's probably one of the best systems out there. The car length markers on the display give a very concrete image of where objects are that a mirror doesn't provide. A "legal" implementation of this as a side mirror replacement could be screens in the doors, such as the ones shown in one of the pictures in the linked article, displaying the same rearward view to the driver.

Side mirrors existed for a time when computers and cameras did not exist. Now that we have this technology, it's time to move on. Heck, a system could be designed to allow the user to even zoom in/out on their side cameras! Find me a mirror that can do that.

Aren’t the “objects may be closer...” mirrors an analog version of changing the field of view?

I just have tech issues. Digital things let me down far too often for me to have any sufficient degree of trust in them. A lot of that comes from growing up in Silicon Valley and seeing the rush to get the competitive edge at the expense of...actually making things work.

I haven’t driven anything with driver “assist” features except for my big rig, but if others are like those systems, no freaking thank you. They create hazards I have a hard time predicting.

Still, should automakers be allowed to do this? My principles still say yeah, I don’t want it required to be in or out of my life. People will probably love it the way they love all that infotainment stuff.