[QUOTE=Kalcium,Jun 2 2006, 02:52 PM]
Intrepid175: Nice try, but not quite.

Follow my math here for a sec: research at Virginia Tech (some dudette's PhD dissertation; if any of you die-hard technical folks are looking for an alternative form of punishment, you can [ find the study at this link]) indicate that the average completed blind spot check by head turning is about 1,800 milliseconds. This time translated into distance that your car travels (at highway speeds of say 70mph) is .035 miles or 184.8 feet. That's the distance your car travels without you at the wheel.

 

I am 6' tall and drive with the seat all the way back. Besides the LH blind spot, I can;t get the RH convex mirror out far enough either to eliminate a lot of overlap with the rear view mirror. Any ideas on this? thx.

BTW, all the cars I have driven in Europe have LH convex mirrors. I often feel that I can't really judge the speed of cars approaching from behind on my left. Thise who have the MUZ LH mirror, do you get used to this?

 

[QUOTE]184.8 feet tends to pale when compared to 3/4 of a mile with your eyes inside the car!

 

It's far more dangerous to NOT "shoulder check" before changing lanes or altering your direction of travel. That's why it's on every driver's licence test in N. America. You should ALWAYS know what's at least 2 seconds in front of you. THAT'S also part of good driving skill. And once you've established that the path that's 2 seconds in front of you is adequately safe, that is when a "shoulder check" is done.
I read quite a bit of that little girl's thesis and it stresses more importance upon the electronic/mechanical aid in her study. You've incorrectly read into her thesis the aspect of shoulder checking being "dangerous". A timely and precise (read: quick and targetted) shoulder check takes little away from the driver's ability to drive safely.
I was a motorcycle instructor for over 11 years and we teach all students to actually do a double shoulder check before altering the direction of travel. A first one to ensure it is safe to even consider such a move, then signalling and then a second one just before executing the manouver. Mirrors are to be used only for reference and as a guide. They are NEVER to be a substitute for a good shoulder check.

Unfortunately, we've digress from the original topic of this thread. That being, the efficacy of this "lanefx" product and other products such as the convex driver's side mirror in aid of assisting to resolve the blind spot.

 

I agree.

In the lane next to me, I can see a car in my rearview if it far enough back. Just as it gets close enough to start disappearing out of my rearview, it becomes visible in my sideview. Just as it starts to disappear from my sideview, I can see it through my window.

When I'm checking the lane next to me, I only turn my head about 20 degrees. I can still see in front of me and I can check the lane.

Unfortunately, a motorcycle is small enough that it could be hiding in the space where a car could not. So I keep pretty close track on bikes that are around me.

I really would NOT want the mirror to be sweeping around on its own. I can get the same effect just by moving my head further from or closer to the window, even when I am still looking in front of me.

 

Mike, you are smarter than the average bear (or driver anyway). You set your mirrors in the precise manner that maximizes your view of the driving world around you.
You also have a firm grasp of what a "shoulder check" is all about. A shoulder check is NOT doing an "Excorcist" head rotation. It is done exactly as you describe, with minimal head movement and maximal eye movement.
Although personally, I wouldn't want a mirror that moves with my signal lights, in the modern driving world where many drivers don't even signal or shoulder check, this might be a good thing. And like other new safety devices, I'm sure that driver's can and will learn to take advantage of them and drive more safety because of them. These are the same people who can really use as much help as they can get. Left to their own "devices", these are the people who tend to be road hazards themselves.

 

Track instruction. I used to have my mirrors set the way most people do (where you can see the side of your own car in the mirror) and do a big "over the shoulder" check. But my instructors taught me how it should be done and how the mirrors should be set, and it's become totally second nature to me now.

The same is true for keeping both hands on the wheel at 9-3. I now feel as uncomfortable with only one hand on the wheel as I do with my seatbelt unbuckled. It's amazing what a difference a few years of intensive tracking can make on your driving habits.

 

[QUOTE=Kalcium,Jun 2 2006, 10:20 PM]Like I said: Dude you rock! Love the way your brain works. And by and large we're probably in violent agreement but haven't realized it yet

 

Intrepid175 & xviper: you guys give a guy a run for his intellectual capital!

You guiys are right about the scope of this discussion. So I created a poll in general car talk to hopefully settle this once and for all.

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.ph...&f=73&t=393206

One last important clarification on this: Guys, when I say turning head away to the side is dangerous (in caps as I recall) and it shouldn't be done, I did not mean that we should stop doing it and do nothing at all before lane changes. GRRR I would never advocate something like that. What I meant to say (but said it poorly) is that the act is dangerous in light of much safer alternatives. Hope this clarifies my position. Save your bullets. I'll take my exit now.

 

Thank you!

These days, it feels like there's probably < 1% of the people out there that do the old fashion shoulder check when changing lanes.

Then again, anything goes these days with all these idiots that lean so far back in their driver seats that they may as well be driving from their backseats!