Blind Spot detection: is it useless or am I missing something?

[Chocolate Thunder]

It sounds like yours isn’t working correctly. The settings can be found in the head unit to turn the beeping on or off but the illumination of the icon in the side mirror should be a constant whenever a car is on your hip.

One thing that the majority of drivers do wrong is adjusting mirrors incorrectly. First, adjust your inside mirror to be able to clearly see a car behind you in the lane you’re in. Once you’ve got it adjusted, set your side mirrors so that when the car behind you changes lanes to pass you, the car enters your side mirror as they leave the rear view mirror. Now when the car in the next lane travels out of your field of view in the newly adjusted side mirror, it should enter your peripheral vision without having to turn your head much, if at all.

For most drivers this will require that you adjust the mirrors further out more than you currently have them set. You should not be looking down the side of your Jeep, you should be adjusted to see the adjacent lane including what used to be a large “blind spot”. This takes some getting used to but it works. You will see more useful area, reduce or eliminate the “blind spot”, and will need to turn less to see the vehicle that leaves your side mirror before it travels into your peripheral vision.

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[gofastguy]

Mine works, but it doesn't work until a car is RIGHT UP TO you. Is there a way to have it trigger a little before it gets to your rear bumper?

Mine too. Definitely limits its practical use. Other vehicles give you the heads up far sooner and are much more useful.

 

[iwishiwereadinosaur]

Or go old school and turn your head. We rely too much on the nannies and lose a lot of basic driving skills.
Technology assistance has its merits, but visual confirmation of your surroundings will always keep you out of trouble.

You should be able to set your mirrors so that you never have to turn your head. Every driver's ed class teaches you to overlap your mirrors and create a blind spot that requires you to take your eyes off of the road. It's a terrible technique to teach.

It sounds like yours isn’t working correctly. The settings can be found in the head unit to turn the beeping on or off but the illumination of the icon in the side mirror should be a constant whenever a car is on your hip.

One thing that the majority of drivers do wrong is adjusting mirrors incorrectly. First, adjust your inside mirror to be able to clearly see a car behind you in the lane you’re in. Once you’ve got it adjusted, set your side mirrors so that when the car behind you changes lanes to pass you, the car enters your side mirror as they leave the rear view mirror. Now when the car in the next lane travels out of your field of view in the newly adjusted side mirror, it should enter your peripheral vision without having to turn your head much, if at all.

For most drivers this will require that you adjust the mirrors further out more than you currently have them set. You should not be looking down the side of your Jeep, you should be adjusted to see the adjacent lane including what used to be a large “blind spot”. This takes some getting used to but it works. You will see more useful area, reduce or eliminate the “blind spot”, and will need to turn less to see the vehicle that leaves your side mirror before it travels into your peripheral vision.

Yeah, not possible. The Jeep mirrors don't go wide enough. It's a real bummer.

But you're saying that the triangle light should be on if someone is in my blind spot? It will stay on constantly? A little red triangle?

But the sensor is in the rear corner? So there will be no alert if a car is slightly past that point and right next to me but not quite in my peripheral vision?

 

[Fouts]

rn
Mine light is on in my mirror until the entire car leaves the rear tailight sensor, by then I can see car outside my window. works great in my 2dr with soft top, as I have gotten older my ability to turn my head way back has diminished.

 

[nerubi]

Here's a novel question - have you read the owner'smanual on the BSM limitations and settings? It lists distances, speeds, motion of when it doesn't work.

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

Yeah, not possible. The Jeep mirrors don't go wide enough. It's a real bummer.

But you're saying that the triangle light should be on if someone is in my blind spot? It will stay on constantly? A little red triangle?

But the sensor is in the rear corner? So there will be no alert if a car is slightly past that point and right next to me but not quite in my peripheral vision?

You're absolutely right that if they were a little wider the coverage would be better. However the necessary over the shoulder look is minimal when they’re set properly. A side glance at most.

The indicator is an orange light in the corner of the mirror. It stays illuminated from the time a vehicle is approaching your rear bumper until it’s completely clear of the front bumper and slightly beyond. If you have it activated, the beep occurs if you use your indicator toward the side where the car is beside you while the sensor detects a car there (the mirror light is illuminated).

 

[ChrispyJL]

Or go old school and turn your head. We rely too much on the nannies and lose a lot of basic driving skills.
Technology assistance has its merits, but visual confirmation of your surroundings will always keep you out of trouble.

THIS, I will never, as long as I live, allow a computer to tell me if there is or is not a car next to me before I switch lanes.

 

[rickinAZ]

THIS, I will never, as long as I live, allow a computer to tell me if there is or is not a car next to me before I switch lanes.

I think it's the other way around. A distracted driver is about to make a big mistake and the system (hopefully) warns them. In other words, it's a safety net, for inattentive drivers. [like we ALL are from time-to-time]

I don't hear anyone saying that people are allowing the detection system to guide them in lieu of visually checking. All of these safety nannies act as supplements to driver input.

 

[1quick1]

THIS, I will never, as long as I live, allow a computer to tell me if there is or is not a car next to me before I switch lanes.

I think the same way but my JLU had the safety pack so I figured whatever.

I still check every single time so it's really not a big deal. It does scare me the people who don't check and just trust the computers but considering 43% of drivers I see are so balls deep into their phones them having it probably makes me safer.

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

I think the same way but my JLU had the safety pack so I figured whatever.

I still check every single time so it's really not a big deal. It does scare me the people who don't check and just trust the computers but considering 43% of drivers I see are so balls deep into their phones them having it probably makes me safer.

This is a straw man argument. This is absolutely NOT the case. Who ever got the idea that drivers with blind spot monitoring simply don’t check? That they rely on it to tell them there’s a car beside then? That’s not true. And that’s not what it’s for.

It’s there to ENHANCE safe driving procedures not replace them. You still need to watch out ahead and brake on time. But antilock brakes enhance your safety by stopping shorter than you are able to without locking up the brakes. This isn’t conjecture or my opinion, it’s a fact proven by physics. Why can’t people believe that blind spot monitoring can help a driver keep from making a mistake?

I think of myself as a good and attentive driver. I don’t talk on the phone or text while driving, not even hands free. I teach defensive driving techniques. And on occasion I have still started to change lanes before without fully checking and been surprised to find a vehicle there. Or had a driver 2 lanes over try to move into the lane I want at the same time I change lanes. I know that I am not the only one. A system to prevent that potential crash is a good thing not only for me, but for the car beside me that I don’t run into.

 

[AlamedaJeep]

Or had a driver 2 lanes over try to move into the lane I want at the same time I change lanes.

This is one of the biggest benefits IMO. I always check before making a lane change and then the BSM monitors things while I’m making the lane change.

 

[1quick1]

This is a straw man argument. This is absolutely NOT the case. Who ever got the idea that drivers with blind spot monitoring simply don’t check? That they rely on it to tell them there’s a car beside then? That’s not true. And that’s not what it’s for.

It’s there to ENHANCE safe driving procedures not replace them. You still need to watch out ahead and brake on time. But antilock brakes enhance your safety by stopping shorter than you are able to without locking up the brakes. This isn’t conjecture or my opinion, it’s a fact proven by physics. Why can’t people believe that blind spot monitoring can help a driver keep from making a mistake?

I think of myself as a good and attentive driver. I don’t talk on the phone or text while driving, not even hands free. I teach defensive driving techniques. And on occasion I have still started to change lanes before without fully checking and been surprised to find a vehicle there. Or had a driver 2 lanes over try to move into the lane I want at the same time I change lanes. I know that I am not the only one. A system to prevent that potential crash is a good thing not only for me, but for the car beside me that I don’t run into.

What exactly is not the case as I didn't make a case? What are you even arguing? Do you realize you're making an argument to agree with me in the fact people should check their blindspots and this is only there to enhance safety as I clearly said? I'll disregard the last 2 useless paragraphs other than reassuring my point that I'm glad people like you have it because in your own words you change lanes without checking your blind spots.

 

[Slowpoke]

I would never rely on a little orange light or a beep to tell me if it's safe to change lanes or not.
BE WELL

 

[rickinAZ]

I would never rely on a little orange light or a beep to tell me if it's safe to change lanes or not.
BE WELL

Where is this "I never rely on..." coming from? Reread Posts #23 and #25. There is NO ONE on God's green earth who is simply following the indicators without visually looking first.

 

[1quick1]

Where is this "I never rely on..." coming from? Reread Posts #23 and #25. There is NO ONE on God's green earth who is simply following the indicators without visually looking first.

You sure about that? I reread #25.

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