One of the areas where technology really seems to make regular improvements is in the car industry. It is not that long ago where improvements were made with the installation of air bags and seat belts and in the last thirty years technology has made significant improvements to make driving a car safer and more enjoyable with all of its perks and extras. With all of this change regularly occurring, it is no big surprise that the car industry is looking to make changes to things such as the side-view mirrors and rear-view mirror of your car by replacing the traditional mirror with camera devices instead.
The Benefits of Cameras Over Mirrors
More and more cars today are taking advantage of devices that provide advanced driving assistance to the driver, taking over more of the driving responsibility than ever before. This can include things such as assistance with parallel parking, warning signals if your car drifts out of its lane, advanced braking systems to brake automatically if you get too close to another car and much more. It seems only natural that using cameras instead of the traditional mirrors would be the next step to provide you with even greater view all around your vehicle. The cameras can even be re-positioned automatically to provide you with the necessary views when you are in reverse or trying to park so you can be sure to see everything. The cameras help to greatly reduce any of the typical blind spots that people may have when driving by providing a wider coverage area and the screen offers a signal when something or someone is up beside you.
Potential Obstacles to Cameras over Mirrors
While several car companies such as Tesla and Maserati have already made plans to use cameras over mirrors, there are some drawbacks to the issue. According to a law written in 1968 by the National Transportation Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA), all cars must have a mirror on the windshield and the door for cars sold in the United States. In order for cameras to be allowed, this law would have to be changed. There are also those who feel that the cameras instead of mirrors may prove to be too much of a distraction for drivers and have the potential to cause more accidents than if drivers were to just use mirrors.
While there is still some work to be done and cars that employ mirrors are just in testing phases now from many manufacturers, it may not be long before you see them employed in vehicles instead of mirrors. Most new cars today already make use of back-up cameras and having side and rear-view cameras that can also stream directly to a dashboard screen can provide much better views for a driver, creating a much safer driving atmosphere overall and having a camera device instead of mirror can actually create less drag on your car, giving you more efficient fuel consumption. Laws may need to be changed for it to be accomplished but you may have a camera view on your car sooner than you think.