Shocked! Model 3 has no blind spot detection [Update: yes, it does]

[spindrome]

Good driving habits is to correctly adjust your mirrors and you never need to turn you head. Have almost never turned my head in YEARS nor missed knowing a car on the side.

My mirrors are adjusted correctly. I’ve never had to turn my head on my other cars either over the past several years, thanks to the blindspot LEDs.

Maybe I’m just extra careful with a kid who’s about to get her DL. I’m just so used to driving a certain way for 30+ years and I always say to look at your mirror AND turn your shoulder to see if a car is in your blind spot, before you attempt to change lanes and use the turn signal.

 

[9-Volt]

What I’ve recently begun doing to deal with the lack of RCTA is to roll down the front windows when I’m backing out of the car so that I can hear other cars coming toward me in addition to watching for them over my shoulder. It’s really helped me a lot. But I still turn my head to look behind me whenever backing out of a parking spot. Relying on side view mirrors or the backup camera just doesn’t feel safe to me.

I mute the stereo while backing out as well just to eliminate one more distraction. With these practices I’m comfortable not having RCTA...but again it would be nice if the car had it.

I like it, particularly with no engine noise to contend with!

 

[lotusland]

But here's the thing, Tesla is only objectively *better/safer* ("does more"?) if one's goal is to someday not have to drive the car.
...
I bought a self-driving wannabe car that makes no bones about being not designed for actual "driving" ...

Sorry but I could not disagree with you more on this. The M3 is a fantastic "driver's car". It is more engaging and fun-to-drive than almost any other car on the road. And I came from a Lotus Elise, which is the best driver's car on the planet.

 

[SammichLover]

The ‘ultimate blind spot’ he’s talking about when shoulder checking is in front of the car.

That part is a bit silly with cars, especially ones with mirrors as small as the Tesla. And you are already putting part of the 360 outside peripheral anyway, because we aren’t herbivores with eyes on opposing sides of our head.

It’s really not an either/or thing. Moving around so your mirrors have better coverage, and you remove the A pillar blind spot, is a very real thing. The 3, for structural reasons, has a very big A pillar.

I suppose I could try track down my commercial driver trainers to help out on this? But I don’t really think that’s necessary, they’d be just like me here. “WTF?”

 

[SammichLover]

I’ve never had to turn my head on my other cars either over the past several years, thanks to the blindspot LEDs.

Double .

 

[SammichLover]

Sorry but I could not disagree with you more on this. The M3 is a fantastic "driver's car". It is more engaging and fun-to-drive than almost any other car on the road. And I came from a Lotus Elise, which is the best driver's car on the planet.

100%, the Model 3 is a “driver’s car” in any rational definition. Really the augment against that boils down to a combo of nostalgia for certain esthetics, not the core driving task itself, and often just never having driven one.

I’ve had it asserted by people, almost exclusively by those that have never driven on, that the lack of engine noise means it isn’t a driver's car. What, the noise that actually actively interferes with the task of driving?

Same with the EV drivetrain vs a standard transmission ICE. That’s just anachronistic mistaking the EV drivetrain for automatic shifting and the performance and interactivity (aka how responsive to direct input the vehicle is) trade-offs that come with automatic transmissions. Plus “back in my day” snobbery, same as paddle shifting gets.


<edit> The Model S, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish...

 

[9-Volt]

100%, the Model 3 is a “driver’s car” in any rational definition.

Just to be clear, I wasn't talking about driving dynamics (I bought this car for a reason!), just some of the "safety" features relating to driving that I find lacking and wasn't aware were intentionally missing until this thread.

 

[SammichLover]

Just to be clear, I wasn't talking about driving dynamics (I bought this car for a reason!), just some of the "safety" features relating to driving that I find lacking and wasn't aware were intentionally missing until this thread.

Like the “missing” blindspot detection that is actually there?

 

[9-Volt]

Like the “missing” blindspot detection that is actually there?

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one. In my last car, in a pinch where I had to make a split second decision, it was nice to be able to quickly eyeball that yellow light on the mirror so I could factor that info in when weighing my options. As I said earlier, though, that's not a big feature for me, as I didn't use it for my day to day driving, but doesn't mean it wasn't nice to have for the odd time I did use it. That said, I *would* use the x-traffic monitor a few times a week, all at one particular spot. I'm going to start rolling down my window (as per the tip in this thread), but, again, would be nice to have a better system.

 

[robski]

What does this type of Shocked!" feel like? Did you experience a sudden jolt or left horrified? From the other cars perspective, I'm sure they were shocked! that you almost hit them.

 

[9-Volt]

Still getting a feel for this Forum as well. Some super helpful folks (and interesting discussions) and then weird drive-bys.

 

[SammichLover]

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one. In my last car, in a pinch where I had to make a split second decision, it was nice to be able to quickly eyeball that yellow light on the mirror so I could factor that info in when weighing my options.

The Model 3's version is audio so you don't even have to look.

Not that I would ever make a move without a shoulder + mirror check.** Plus it'd be kinda unusual for something to be there without my prior knowledge, although that can happen because motorcycles etc.

<edit>You can't deny it is actually there, you can only argue "well it isn't what I'm used to and I don't like it, because I've been cheating on shoulder checks for years".

** Something that was very tough, but required, to unlearn when I started driving bus. It is all shifting yourself and mirrors there. Shoulder check = bad. It really brought home just how ingrained shoulder check was in my brain. Comforting in some ways, knowing I hadn't just been lucky for decades.

 

[spindrome]

Still getting a feel for this Forum as well. Some super helpful folks (and interesting discussions) and then weird drive-bys.

Me too. Lots of super fanboys that will defend the car like it’s all they have in life.

We’re just talking about LEDs, gheeze.

 

[9-Volt]

The Model 3's version is audio so you don't even have to look.

Okay, okay, I'll RTFM!

 

[SammichLover]

Okay, okay, I'll RTFM!

Keep in mind that the manual isn't always current on specific details.

I should also have added that the downside is you need to already be in motion (I don't believe the audio works on the signal light alone, that's only visual on the console and that's near the last place I want to be looking in an urgent situation ) to get the feedback. So that part is definitely a change from the past. They don't work in the same way, at the same point in the process, that you're describing using those mirror mounted indicators.

<edit> And because of that I totally understand someone not liking it. Change is hard, and this change can cut pretty deep on habits that have years if not decades of cultivation. I'm fortunate in that it fits relatively well with what I've always been doing.

 

[KenC]

Never liked BlindSpot detectors, because the drivers I've seen use them, use them as primary indicators and not secondary/backup indicators that the lane next to them is clear. A fast moving vehicle can pass thru a BSD zone fast enough that when the driver switches, actually hit you. This happens on freeways, when the traffic in one lane is stopped, and the next lane is moving quickly. The speed differential is too high for the BSD to be useful.

And as for Cross-Traffic alerts, I don't back out of parking spaces, I always back in, then drive out, so never have a use for CTA.

Sure, it would be nice if Tesla had those, but I wish people would use the BSD as a secondary/backup indicator rather than their primary source for deciding to switch lanes. Adjust your mirrors properly, and you have 360degree vision around your car. There's no replacement for seeing the area around your car.

 

[alsetym]

Let me tell you 2 stories about my personal experience that may be relevant to the blind spot detection discussion:

1. I was beside a late model Mercedes sedan on the way home from the cottage for about 1/2 in traffic. For a family fun game I played 'see if I can trick the blind spot sensor' on his car. About 1 in 15 times or so I could put my car squarely in the blind spot and not have the light on his mirror go on. Also, anytime I was too far forward, or too far back (but still beside him) the blind spot light did not turn on. So it is ONLY useful for cars in a very narrow spot, and only 'most' of the time. Probably useful, but not a 100% solution, and I bet he was pretty pissed at his mirror blinking on and off over a hundred times in the 1/2hr I was beside him (I wasn't intentionally screwing with him, traffic just putting me slightly ahead then slightly behind kinda thing).

2. A month ago I almost missed an exit because I am an idiot and made a too quick decision to change lanes. My car (3LR) grabbed the steering wheel and freaked out at me, because there was some poor bstard in my blind spot on the right. First time in 30 years of driving I've screwed up like that and the car made it nearly impossible for me to hit the guy. Might not work 100%, might not work next time...worked on the only time I've ever needed it in my life. Not sure the light on my mirror would have provided the same service, but we'll never know.

Let's hope all drivers assistance systems become both standard and better over time.

 

[ElectricLee]

I dunno about low speed crashes. That's not my dept.
People who have ideas on how to improve the M3, keep at it.

Blind spots during multi-lane freeway transitions were my nightmare.
Now I just left the NOA do it, and it's a lot less stressful.

The Future is Now!

 

[ElectricLee]

Shocked! My iPhone has NO keyboard???

 

[MoreAgain]

I just wish that the side view camera popped up when I put my turn signal on. This seems like such a simple fix. You know I intend to change lanes, just show me the view from that side camera. That seems way better than a dot on the mirror.