![]() Does this mean they won’t be able to get a driver’s license? Can you drive if you are legally blind?Ī legally blind person cannot receive a normal, unrestricted driver’s license. Still, manufacturers often use their own names for these systems.A person with 20/200 vision or less is considered legally blind. Power, and the National Safety Council have agreed on standardized, specific names for about 20 key individual safety systems in order to reduce confusion and improve consumer understanding of what they do. Even if shoppers have to pay extra for this feature, we don’t think they’ll regret it.ĬR, AAA, J.D. CR’s testers prefer systems that use a bright warning light on the side mirror, as opposed to on the infotainment display screen or instrument cluster. It makes for safer lane changes, and it is a real boon for drivers in vehicles with big blind spots. CR gives bonus points to models that have it as standard equipment across all trims, and our members also rate it favorably. These can often be accessed online through the automaker’s website, in the “owner’s” section.ĬR’s take: BSW is one of CR’s recommended safety features. Systems that frequently sound loud alarms can be distracting, Funkhouser says.īefore you buy a car, she recommends that you look in the owner’s manual to learn more about the BSW system. Some of our survey respondents said they prefer a system that gives only a visual warning, saving a louder audio warning for those times where a driver is about to actively hit a vehicle. She also recommends systems that allow drivers to customize the sensitivity and type of warning. “Warning lights or camera views on the dashboard or elsewhere can be distracting and take a driver’s eyes away from the location they should be looking.” “You should already be checking your mirrors, so it’s the natural place to put a warning,” she says. ![]() The best BSW systems put warning lights in a vehicle’s side mirrors, says Kelly Funkhouser, manager for vehicle technology at CR. ![]() “This car has a big blind spot so this feature is very useful,” they wrote. The driver of a 2018 Cadillac XT5 agreed. “The blind spot warning light is helpful because there is a large pillar behind the rear passenger seat that blocks being able to see the blind spot if I turn my head,” wrote the owner of a 2019 Honda CR-V. Many drivers highlighted how important BSW is in modern vehicles, which tend to have larger side and rear blind spots. Satisfaction was higher for newer vehicles, indicating that these systems may be improving as time goes on. The survey covered about 47,000 vehicles. Respondents answered questions about their satisfaction with the systems and told us which ones helped them avoid a crash. In our most recent car safety survey, we asked CR members to rate their experiences with the advanced safety and driver assistance systems on their model-year 2017 to 2022 cars. Some systems provide an additional warning if the driver activates the turn signal when it is unsafe to merge or change lanes.īlind Spot Assist (BSA): The BSA system automatically steers and/or brakes when the turn signal is activated during a lane change maneuver and a vehicle is occupying the blind spot in an adjacent lane. “It is a practical and useful feature that I now consider a critical requirement in any future auto purchase,” wrote the owner of a 2020 Subaru Forester.īlind Spot Warning (BSW): This detects vehicles in the blind spot while driving and notifies the driver to their presence. Now a commonplace option on many affordable vehicles, some survey respondents told us they wouldn’t buy a vehicle without it. In prior surveys, two-thirds of drivers who used BSW told us it helped to prevent a crash. Some newer vehicles may even have a Blind Spot Assist function, which may slightly correct the steering wheel or even apply the brakes to avoid a potential collision when the turn signal is activated and there’s an obstacle in the blind spot.
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