"Blind Spot Detection is disappointing"

[Magus]

Between the side mirrors being adjusted properly, the rear view camera on the top portion of the screen, and early detection warning and avoidance I am very happy with the package. There are so many safeties in place and my S has already auto avoided a side accident- from a car driving excessively fast while changing lanes in the right side of the freeway.

The sensors are good a higher speed, the display has very slight lag. But with auto lane change and avoidance it is very obvious that the ultrasonics are good sensors. On the highway I use auto lane change all the time so my S has always done lane changes safely.

If you're comparing side monitoring ONLY, yes other automakers have a better specific single system. However no one matches the Tesla package as a whole. There is absolutely nothing comparable as a whole system.

Would not be hard to make software change like a noise and graphic when someone is making a lane change.

 

[FranKim]

I agree that lane change assist is lacking. I've had Lexus and Mercedes in the past and these worked much better.
I've resorted to placing those PepBoys fish eye stick-ons, butnow I am going to see about re-adjusting mirror location based upon what I've seen on this thread - perhaps its time to stop looking at the side of my car.
I will say that setting the mirror so I can see the side of my car view helps me see the curb and lines while parking.

 

[RogerHScott]

My advanced driving instructor told me once if I want to see the edge of my car, put a picture of it next to the mirror.

There's a reason for this practice: if you can't see any of your car you have no frame of reference for where the mirror is pointed, so you can't tell if something or somehow has tilted it out farther than you expect, leaving a blind spot between the edge of your car and the right edge of the field of view in the mirror. I'm not sure how the picture of your car addresses that...

 

[RogerHScott]

Running the rear view camera all the time.

Uuuhhhhh... doesn't that make you sea-sick? Personally, I'd rather be trapped on an amusement park ride...

 

[roblab]

Eh, I've never had a car with a blind spot monitoring system that actually worked worth a damn... Model S included. The one thing I am very happy about, however, is that you can set up mirrors in the Model S (at least, from my driving position) to completely eliminate lane-to-lane blind spots.

Plus Ten. Mirrors are a part of the blind spot monitoring system. Aim them out so you just see the edge of your car, and all of the blind spot.

Yesterday, I had an old Dodge Charger sit in what he thought was my blind spot for about 5 miles for no other reason that perhaps he thought I might pull over and he'd get a new car, who knows? Other than the horrible noises of him trying to keep up and shifting all the time, I could see him plainly in my passenger side mirror, which is aimed outward just enough to cover the blind spot.

The center mirror is for looking back.

 

[newbie1235]

I really wish that it had warning lights on there, it's hard looking left or right then flooring it and hurting your neck. Think they really failed on the blind sport monitor system here. I'm really interested in looking for a 3rd party to do this for me since Tesla doesn't want to address this issue.

I saw a story where Tesla wants to get rid of the whole side mirrors, but that just seems like a bad idea. :|

 

[Blueeyedme]

I really liked the blind spot warning in my 2015 E-class and was disappointed that the MS was a move backward in that technology. I understand that sensors, mirrors, etc are no replacement for your eyes, but it was a very good safety feature.

 

[Saghost]

I really wish that it had warning lights on there, it's hard looking left or right then flooring it and hurting your neck. Think they really failed on the blind sport monitor system here. I'm really interested in looking for a 3rd party to do this for me since Tesla doesn't want to address this issue.

I saw a story where Tesla wants to get rid of the whole side mirrors, but that just seems like a bad idea. :|

Have you driven a Honda with their Lanewatch system?
I was actually very impressed with the image it puts on the center screen for the right side blind spot, and would have no issues with a system like that replacing the mirrors if a suitable method for displaying the images is developed (I think some early X concept shots had the side rear view camera feeds in the instrument cluster on both sides of the main display. That could work, though it is still not intuitive and I wouldn't want them there at all times.)

 

[Gizmotoy]

No most (presume most means majority) other systems do not rely on camera or lidar. Suggest you do a touch of research.

But most do rely on radar, which he also suggested. Only Tesla uses ultrasonics for this purpose.

Ultrasonics have high latency and short range, being particularly vulnerable to fast-moving vehicles at the edge of their detection window. I think Tesla just decided they were cheap and a good enough way to get started. I doubt they'll survive through an AutoPilot revision, especially in the rear 3/4 locations.

 

[Twiglett]

I'm not sure how "assistance" can be at fault for something where it is only there as backup when the driver makes a mistake.
The driver has to make the mistake first.
No point blaming the secondary system like the tech for a driver error.

 

[FranKim]

Running the rear view camera all the time. Its a great Blind Spot Detector.

I've tried this idea too and I agree it works great for slower speeds but for me, at higher traveling speeds, it seems that approaching cars can quickly gobble up the area you just visually cleared before you can change lanes. The focal zone for the camera is necessarily short range as it is primarily a parking camera.

And haha, my wife gets motion sickness if shes in the car while I am using it.

 

[ArtInCT]

I too find the blind spot warning seriously lacking. Does not work as well as the BLIS system in my Volvo XC60.
I have adjusted my side mirrors in the S to show the blind spot a bit better. You really cannot rely upon it at all.

 

[AB4EJ]

I have heard that Tesla has proposed to eliminate side mirrors to further reduce drag coefficient (i.e., get federal requirements changed). This will help range, but clearly the performance of the side-alert system has to be near-perfect for this to be viable, or at least a really good camera will need to be there so that you have something to check without craning your neck around.

 

[anxman]

No most (presume most means majority) other systems do not rely on camera or lidar. Suggest you do a touch of research.

Here's a touch of research on various driving technologies:

Lidar:
- Google self-driving car - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Meet the Companies Building Self-Driving Cars for Google and Tesla (And Maybe Apple)

Camera based systems:
- GM’s Using Cameras on Customer Cars to Build Self-Driving Car Maps
- Mobileye N.V. - Mobileye To Offer User-Generated Mapping For Autonomous Driving

Most current in-market systems rely on radar for the blindspot detection while autonomous systems rely on lidar and cameras. Given that Tesla was building for L2 autonomy, I'm benchmarking it against autonomous solutions more than traditional vehicles.

Also, by ignoring the "radar" portion of the sentence, one would change its meaning (or perhaps intentionally mislead so he can sound smarter than he actually is?). Here's a touch of research on how "or" is used correctly: Logical disjunction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

But most do rely on radar, which he also suggested. Only Tesla uses ultrasonics for this purpose.

Ultrasonics have high latency and short range, being particularly vulnerable to fast-moving vehicles at the edge of their detection window. I think Tesla just decided they were cheap and a good enough way to get started. I doubt they'll survive through an AutoPilot revision, especially in the rear 3/4 locations.

100% agreed. It won't survive the next iteration. Ultrasonic is not sufficient for blind spot detection. Tesla made a mistake with the technology.

 

[paulp]

Here's a touch of research on various driving technologies:

Lidar:
- Google self-driving car - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Meet the Companies Building Self-Driving Cars for Google and Tesla (And Maybe Apple)

Camera based systems:
- GM’s Using Cameras on Customer Cars to Build Self-Driving Car Maps
- Mobileye N.V. - Mobileye To Offer User-Generated Mapping For Autonomous Driving

Most current in-market systems rely on radar for the blindspot detection while autonomous systems rely on lidar and cameras. Given that Tesla was building for L2 autonomy, I'm benchmarking it against autonomous solutions more than traditional vehicles.

Also, by ignoring the "radar" portion of the sentence, one would change its meaning (or perhaps intentionally mislead so he can sound smarter than he actually is?). Here's a touch of research on how "or" is used correctly: Logical disjunction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.



100% agreed. It won't survive the next iteration. Ultrasonic is not sufficient for blind spot detection. Tesla made a mistake with the technology.

Maybe don't make general statements but rather be more specific. If you mean most systems used radar lidar etc then thats wrong, as most cars dont. If you mean most semi-autonmous cars use camera, radar etc then thats also wrong, as the majority of these are teslas, and they use ultrasonics. If you mean most experimental semi-autonomous systems than fair enough, but they arent market available yet.
"Or perhaps intentionally mislead so he can sound smarter". hmmmmm

 

[Caligula]

I will say that setting the mirror so I can see the side of my car view helps me see the curb and lines while parking.

The car automatically adjusts the side mirrors to see the curb and edges of the carear when reversing. They go back to your settings when in drive.

There's a reason for this practice: if you can't see any of your car you have no frame of reference for where the mirror is pointed, so you can't tell if something or somehow has tilted it out farther than you expect, leaving a blind spot between the edge of your car and the right edge of the field of view in the mirror. I'm not sure how the picture of your car addresses that...

The back corner of your car never moves. It always stays in the same exact place. So there's really no reason to keep an eye on it.

Uuuhhhhh... doesn't that make you sea-sick? Personally, I'd rather be trapped on an amusement park ride...

Have you had this checked? It doesn't sound normal.

 

[RogerHScott]

The back corner of your car never moves. It always stays in the same exact place. So there's really no reason to keep an eye on it.

I could say the exact same thing about a target at target practice, and it would make just as much sense.

Have you had this checked? It doesn't sound normal.

Which "this" are you referring to? I'm sure the display is working as intended. Some people find that viewing things moving
away from them (constantly) makes them motion-sick. It doesn't need to be a display -- facing backward on a train or subway
is bad too.

 

[Boourns]

I could say the exact same thing about a target at target practice, and it would make just as much sense.

The difference here is you're trying to shoot the target. With regard to your car's mirror adjustment, you care about other cars -- i.e., moving things things *next to* the immobile object. So the analogy is really trying to shoot moving things next to a target. In that case you'd want to focus on those things.

If the back corner of your car is always just to the inside of the visible area of your mirror, you know where it is at all times, and there is no reason to take up visible mirror area with your own car.

 

[RogerHScott]

If the back corner of your car is always just to the inside of the visible area of your mirror,

The point is: how do you know that if you can't see it? If the mirror is moved you go from "can't see the back corner" to "can't see
the back corner" -- i.e., indistinguishable. Except now there's a blind spot that you're unaware of.

 

[Boourns]

The point is: how do you know that if you can't see it? If the mirror is moved you go from "can't see the back corner" to "can't see
the back corner" -- i.e., indistinguishable. Except now there's a blind spot that you're unaware of.

If you are sitting at your desk right now, do you know where your left foot is? How about your kitchen sink at home? That's being a little flippant, but you know where your car is because you have adjusted your mirrors so that the back corner of your car is just outside the mirror's area. If you don't move your mirrors and sit in the same place, it till still be there tomorrow.

The way I learned was to sit as you normally would, then lean to the left to where your head is touching or nearly touchingthe side window. Adjust your left mirror so that you see the back left corner of your car. When you are back upright you will not see your car in the mirror, but you will know that it is *just* outside the mirror's reflective area. This doesn't leave enough room for a car to be without you seeing it. Repeat with the other side, leaning over the same amount. You know you have done it right if while driving, a car that passes you flows from your rear view mirror to a side mirror without any interruption. On nearly every cay I have had there will even be overlap so you know you aren't missing anything.