"OOH! I Didn't See You!" - 'Clueless Unobservant Drivers'

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 27, 2018 at 1:20pm

Bravo!

FYI - There's a useful feature on some newer cars that makes this even easier and gives a wider angle. Our car came equipped with both a backup camera AND a camera under the right side mirror. Turning on the right turn signal automatically turns on the right side camera and gives a wider angle view than the side mirror.  (It's also possible to turn on the camera without the right turn signal.) 

I'm sure it was intended for things like avoiding blind spot collisions during highway lane changes. However, it's extremely for spotting cyclists in the right lane and helping to prevent right hook crashes.

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on April 3, 2018 at 12:11pm

'extremely useful for spotting cyclists in the right lane'

clp, you know as well as I, and Anne also, from our maturing wisdom over our decades of life and cycling, the many valuable lessons we can pass on to those in our community who will carry on into the future our passion and love for that which is dear to us.

I also have many concerns about the upcoming technological innovations and how our distracted modern society may not recognize the extent of need for actual human intelligence and not the programmed code of a machine. Technology can be useful for us, but it should never be entirely trusted.

Last week, another one of those autonomous cars (Tesla) was involved in a horrendous crash that killed the human guinea pig driver. Nope, life has to be more valuable to us than our distractions and the compromising of our minds to make critical decisions.

The future should never be feared, it must be dealt with using the actual human brain.

If we use it correctly, we'll see all that we need and not have to say, "Ooh, I didn't see you!"

Permalink Reply by Douglas Price on April 5, 2018 at 12:08pm

We know that per-mile-driven these systems are already better than human drivers- and when something does go wrong we have a complete record of the circumstances and decisions taken so the systems can be improved.

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on April 5, 2018 at 1:13pm

I'm sure the family of Walter Huang, 38, who had a wife and two children, are not totally comforted by that fact. I understand drivers sign a liability waiver of some degree.

http://abc7news.com/automotive/i-team-exclusive-victim-who-died-in-...

Shockingly, Tesla is now deflecting the blame towards the highway crash barriers for not being maintained in the proper condition before the crash.

Permalink Reply by David P. on April 4, 2018 at 9:42am

You might be better served by familiarizing yourself with rear-view cameras and then commenting on them. 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 4, 2018 at 3:00pm

+1

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on April 4, 2018 at 3:01pm

https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/advanced-c...

And you could have at least posted something for us to back your side of the argument.

Didn't bother, or have time to look, huh? Sounds familiar.

I had time today to look at a few sites and understand that they can contribute to being helpful.

But then, not every device used by a human being is 100% foolproof.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 4, 2018 at 3:00pm

The word would be USEFUL.

It's a wide angle view and it works VERY well.

Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on April 3, 2018 at 12:48pm

As a supplemental measure, in addition to my own efforts to be alert, I'll take whatever I can get.  I do think that if you use your mirrors on a car properly, they work just fine.  I am also a big advocate of cyclists having at least one mirror.  I feel uncomfortable without one on my left side.  

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 4, 2018 at 3:53pm

I strongly agree.

Also, regarding the side mirror camera I mentioned earlier - those of you who know me well know that I'm not necessarily a fan of many of the newer technologies that are becoming common in cars, especially what I refer to as "onboard distraction systems."

I was surprised and impressed at the quality of video image from both rear backup and side mirror cameras on this car.  I don't look at the screen unless I need information there. Of course, having that technology in a car is always a "your mileage may vary" situation. Not all drivers will handle it in the same way. If it's me or my husband driving that car, we're watching out for bikes and peds, and glad to have the wide angle assist to pretty much ELIMINATE blind spots.

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on June 12, 2018 at 4:56pm

OOH! I didn't see 'em officer!

https://chi.streetsblog.org/2018/06/09/idots-life-or-death-campaign...

IDOT is running a campaign to remind clueless and unobservant drivers to be alert (duh!) for pedestrians and cyclists. 

Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on June 13, 2018 at 2:44am

Toronto is having even worse problems. 

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/06/12/female-cyclist-killed-i...

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