New blind spot monitor!

[AnxietyRanger]

The wide angle HD rear view camera installed on all Tesla's, even ones without AP, eliminates blind spot. I am driving my classic P85+ with HD wide angle rear view camera on and it completely covers blind spot. If you do not see car in the HD rear view camera, it is already on the side of your car and visible without mirrors. So all Tesla cars functionally cover blind spot. I find it more ergonomic to look at the top of the center screen when changing lanes, rather into the side view mirrors.

So based on my personal experience of driving classic MS for more than 4 years and 83,000 miles, the hysteria about the blind spot monitoring in Tesla cars is just that - hysteria.

As far as I am concerned, monitoring adjacent lanes via HD wide angle rear view camera on the top of center screen is superior to what is offered "on the Germans"

Driving "the Germans" you don't have to look anywhere to notice someone in the blindspot.

Trust me, you will see the warning on most Germans. In a Tesla, you don't see the blindspot warnings unless you specifically look.

I agree the rearview camera is useful on Teslas. I just wish it wasn't the only thing.

 

[vgrinshpun]

Driving "the Germans" you don't have to look anywhere to notice someone in the blindspot.

Trust me, you will see the warning on most Germans. In a Tesla, you don't see the blindspot warnings unless you specifically look.

I agree the rearview camera is useful on Teslas. I just wish it wasn't the only thing.

You need to look for the display which shows it don't you?

 

[AnxietyRanger]

You need to look for the display which shows it don't you?

Only if you don't use blinkers.

Put the blinker on when someone is in the blind spot and the corner of your eye can not miss what is going on... Most Germans use powerful LEDs pointed at the driver's head that go absolutely bonkers in this scenario.

It actually startles the crap out of me every time it happens after a decade of use. As it should, because it means I missed someone there...

 

[vgrinshpun]

Only if you don't use blinkers.

Put the blinker on when someone is in the blind spot and the corner of your eye can not miss what is going on... Most Germans use powerful LEDs pointed at the driver's head that go absolutely bonkers in this scenario.

It actually startles the crap out of me every time it happens after a decade of use. As it should, because it means I missed someone there...

I prefer to actually see what is going on in my blind zone - directly. And I do not want to pay even a penny additional for anything that you claim startled the crap out of you. YMMV.

 

[Electricfan]

Its funny to me what Tesla makes a priority and what it doesn't. This is an example. Should clearly be high priority - Tesla is behind so many other car-makers on this issue, and its a "safety" issue - doesn't Elon harp on Tesla being the absolute most safest car there's ever ever been!??

 

[Carl]

Man I miss those guys. I still download their podcast.

So do I. The Marx Brothers wouldn't have done that show better! Sad to hear that the late Tom ("of course I don't remember") did end up with Alzheimers disease, before entering that used car lot in the sky, as he would have said.

Slightly more on topic: it is (a) Tesla, with it's unlimited access to any podcasts we want, in the car, and (b) "Talking Tesla", the funniest podcast about all things Tesla, which alerted me to the existence of "Car Talk" (the guys at "Talking Tesla" admitting to never being able to reach the level of humor of "Car Talk").

There is however a real danger in listening to "Car Talk" in your Tesla, i.e. that you are laughing so much that there are tears in your eyes and you can't see where you're driving! Try the first five minutes of this week's podcast (about giving vowels to Bosnia) and you'll see what I mean (while doing so, turn on AP and let it keep its lane until you have a chance to wipe off your tears)

 

[Zero CO2]

The wide angle HD rear view camera installed on all Tesla's, even ones without AP, eliminates blind spot. I am driving my classic P85+ with HD wide angle rear view camera on and it completely covers blind spot. If you do not see car in the HD rear view camera, it is already on the side of your car and visible without mirrors. So all Tesla cars functionally cover blind spot. I find it more ergonomic to look at the top of the center screen when changing lanes, rather into the side view mirrors.

So based on my personal experience of driving classic MS for more than 4 years and 83,000 miles, the hysteria about the blind spot monitoring in Tesla cars is just that - hysteria.

As far as I am concerned, monitoring adjacent lanes via HD wide angle rear view camera on the top of center screen is superior to what is offered "on the Germans"

I agree I keep the rear view camera on and in the top position while driving , this coupled with standard safe driving mirror scans works for me in the Model S

 

[vgrinshpun]

I agree I keep the rear view camera on and in the top position while driving , this coupled with standard safe driving mirror scans works for me in the Model S

I never do mirrors anymore. The camera covers blind spots 100%. I actually did check it out pulling along my other stationary car on my street in multiple positions, verifying location of the other car and how it shows in the camera view.

Never used mirrors after that. 100% better and safer.

To me, it is hilarious how people become used to their ways and refuse to accept something new, even if it is better. This, apparently, includes the habit to bitch about everything Tesla, while readily puting rose glasses distributed for free by traditional OEMs.

 

[Sambas]

Dumb question, if it was pitch black, wouldn't you have seen their headlights illuminating the road in the lane next to you?

Where there is no overhead lights, the only indication for the presence of a car behind me or next to me is its headlights. The guy must have been in my blind spot for a while and I may have been distracted when he got there, and his headlights were not visible to me and all what I saw is blackness out of my left rear window. This is why they call it “driver assist system”.
Guys, this is a very basic safety system on all the new cars not only the luxury ones and it will be, along with rear camera and forward collision warning, a standard on every vehicle produced in five years or less just like the airbags.

 

[Sambas]

I never do mirrors anymore. The camera covers blind spots 100%. I actually did check it out pulling along my other stationary car on my street in multiple positions, verifying location of the other car and how it shows in the camera view.

I agree with you. The HD camera covers the blind spots but my problem is it occupies half of the screen and leaves me with only one application to use. In addition, the fast moving pavement at the bottom of the camera’s picture is very annoying, I wish Tesla would trim out the bottom half when the car is moving forward.

 

[vgrinshpun]

I agree with you. The HD camera covers the blind spots but my problem is it occupies half of the screen and leaves me with only one application to use. In addition, the fast moving pavement at the bottom of the camera’s picture is very annoying, I wish Tesla would trim out the bottom half when the car is moving forward.

The moving pavement on the screen does not bother me, since I do not look at the screen except when changing the lanes, and then I focus on the top portion of it. The human mind is a tricky thing, if we know that something might bother us, we tend to do it, and then, of course, it bothers us. The key is resist the urge to check whether whatever we think *might* bother us is indeed bothers us.

Long story short, I am using the HD rear view camera for 4 years and 83,000 miles, and am very happy with the confidence it gives me on the road. It is way higher for me than using any other method. The key is that I not only know that **something** is **somewhere** in my blind spot, but actually know what it is and the exact position.

 

[doctheseus]

I just did a test drive and ordered my Model x, did not really liked the idea of not having blind spot warning, my Volvo XC 90 also has cross traffic alert with sound which is very helpful.. I really hoped that a car so advanced should have some of these as basic. I tried driving with camera on, It as so distracting or may be I was not used to it.. and another feature I missed from my Volvo XC 90 was 360 view of the car when backing up.... Its so easy to back up with that,...
Hope Tesla gives them as software updates.. some of us should tweet to Elon directly...

 

[AnxietyRanger]

I drive with the camera on, and I agree it is useful not just for blind spot monitoring but in increasing awareness of what is going on around the car.

That said, I wish this wasn't an either-or scenario. If I get distracted for any reason, and forget to pay attention to the camera, the blind spot warnings on Model S/X currently are pretty much useless even when the ultrasonics work...

The visual cues (I wouldn't even call them warnings) on the instrument cluster are so mild that unless you really deliberately check them (who watches the IC when changing lanes?) you will miss them...

 

[AnxietyRanger]

To me, it is hilarious how people become used to their ways and refuse to accept something new, even if it is better. This, apparently, includes the habit to bitch about everything Tesla, while readily puting rose glasses distributed for free by traditional OEMs.

Both would be better than either-or.

I've driven Tesla with the rear camera on since 2014 and I still miss the blind spot monitoring I have on ICE. The warnings are a very nice safety blanket.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

and another feature I missed from my Volvo XC 90 was 360 view of the car when backing up.... Its so easy to back up with that,...

I agree the competition has great 360 cameras. This is something else e.g. @vgrinshpun is missing - if seeing is better (and I agree sometimes it is) there are scenarios where the competition does also allow you to see better!

360 camera is not as useful on Tesla as most cameras are black/white/red and most importantly have a big blindspot in the nose area. And of course currently the view is only available through some developer mode.

Both would be best!

This is what Tesla could show, rough approximation of the blind spot (forward and backward views in the distance longer of course).

Here is what Volvo shows:

 

[lunitiks]

What is that?

 

[AnxietyRanger]

What is that?
View attachment 250067

A car. As usual the perspective for 360 degree cameras can't handle changes in close-by height very well as they are calibrated for ground level and the cameras can't see over objects of certain height anyway. But the important thing is the free space... And that is very visible there.

 

[conman]

The purpose of slightly seeing your own car is when backing up into tight areas or passing tight corners. To be able to do that safety you need to see your rear part in your side mirrors.

BUT anyway even with the mirrors correctly adjusted, you should be able to see cars next to you.

You can adjust the mirror position when you put your vehicle in reverse and if you have enabled the tilt down mirrors in reverse option, it will remember and adjust to the new position each time you put it into reverse and back into your wider angle view for normal driving so you can have the best of both worlds.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

You can adjust the mirror position when you put your vehicle in reverse and if you have enabled the tilt down mirrors in reverse option, it will remember and adjust to the new position each time you put it into reverse and back into your wider angle view for normal driving so you can have the best of both worlds.

Unfortunately I think it is quite telling of how far behind Tesla is because we are talking about mirror adjustment tricks from mid-20th century as well as automatically tilting mirrors from late-20th century.

The reality is, this is simply one area where Tesla is so behind that it's not even funny. They do have a great rear-view camera and AP1 is great at auto-steering, but in everything else Tesla is very behind in driver's aids.

I have to admit I am disappointed in the glacial pace of software updates too. It seems the whole system has stagnated terribly from around 2016... great strides were made in 2012-2015 and now everything is always so delayed and buggy, the UI is a mess etc...

 

[vandacca]

I have it on good authority that Tesla is working on a mini drone that can be recharged via wireless power transmission (finally Nikolai Tesla's dreams come true). The drone will be able to follow the vehicle at various preset height/distance and will magnetically dock to the vehicle near the rear hatch when turned off.

It will be able to provide a truly spectacular over-head view, surpassing all existing technologies. Existing automotive companies will be playing catch-up for years!