HOME: Test Drive LaneFX Online! Take Our Interactive Demo and Experience How LaneFX Transforms Your Commute Into a Safer, More Stress-Free Drives. Say Goodbye to "Near Miss" Lane Changes and Never Have to Worry About What's Lurking in Your Blind Spot Ever Again!
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| NHTSA estimates that 1 out of 25 accidents on US highways is due to improper lane change or lane merge. Get in on the latest and coolest mobile electronics technology. Car gadgets are interesting, but who are you going to trust to show you the vehicles in your blind spot area? Lane FX is safe, reliable, affordable and universal: It works in any vehicle (sedan, truck or SUV) equipped with power mirrors for lane change and also for parking assist. LaneFX is also available with ParkFX Park Assist and Curb Exposure System. ParkFX tilts your side mirror(s) downward when you put the vehicle in reverse to show you the curb (during parallel parking) or the parking boundaries around you. Get ParkFX and avoid giving your rims costly "curb rash"! |
ParkFX For Your SUV - Prevent a TragedyAt least once a week a child in America is run over, typically in backup (reversing) accidentsAre you extra aware and alert when you're in the vicinity of a sport-utility vehicle, van or a pickup truck that's backing up? Are you especially watchful for children when you're behind the wheel of a tall-riding vehicle—be it a van, truck or SUV—and you're backing it up?You should be. According to Consumer Reports, the blind spot behind a tall vehicle such as a Chevrolet Avalanche truck can extend as much as 51 feet in the case of a small-stature driver about 5 feet 1 inches tall. Even for an average-sized driver, 5 feet 8 inches tall, the blind spot can extend nearly 30 feet behind the Avalanche, according to the consumer advice publication. "No one is telling people there's a bigger blind spot in these vehicles," said Janette Fennell, founder and president of the child safety advocacy group Kids and Cars. Pointing out her statistics showing at least one child a week in the United States is killed in a "backover" incident, Fennell urges that some kind of "backover warning and prevention device" be made mandatory on all vehicles. |
Back-over AccidentsMoms Put ParkFX to the TestThere are no government statistics, but some estimate the family car killed as many as 500 children across the country last year. And the accidents happened in their own driveways. While some may wonder what kind of parent could do that, Rachel Clemens said it could happen to just about anyone. Two years ago, her daughter Adrianna wandered out of her Garland home. That’s when Adrianna's father accidentally backed over the child with his SUV. "He didn't see her," Clemens said. "That was the last day I saw my daughter alive." So, how could you not see a child behind the family car? Three Dallas moms agreed to take a safety test with the understanding that they would not know exactly what the tests were about. While they were distracted filling out a questionnaire, Drivaware and Safe4Kids placed an orange cone about 8-feet behind their vehicles and the drivers were then asked to back up. All three plowed right over the cone. "Did I just run over something?" Adrienne Ludlow as said as she backed up. "Oh, I hit the cone," said Amy Gordon. "I figured it was a branch or something," said Merideth Manning. Drivaware and Safe4Kids measured the blind spot behind each of their vehicles. The Honda Pilot had a blind spot over 30 feet, an Infiniti G35 about 18 feet and a Chevy Tahoe more than 35 feet. The eye-opening experiment had all three women interested in the same thing, which was looking into safety equipment like ParkFX or a rear sensor that beeps faster the closer a driver gets to an object. Safety cameras mounted on the rear of car are also available. The cameras relay a picture of the blind spot to a screen on the dashboard. Both technologies are available on new cars with after-market installation costs less than $500. "I would absolutely buy it, but wouldn't think of it until you came over and showed me how dangerous this could possibly be," Gordon said. Attorney Windle Turley represents the Clemens family, which sued Nissan, the maker of the family's SUV. They claim the technology should have been standard equipment. The case is still pending. "Manufacturers take off this needed safety equipment so they can market their vehicle a little bit lower in price than their competitors; and that's really wrong,” Turley said. The trade group representing automakers says, "the best defense against back-over accidents is to check around the vehicle before you back up." "That does not work and you're sending the wrong signal,” Clemens said. Clemens, and several lawmakers in Washington, support legislation that would require automakers to put back-over safety equipment on all new cars. Experts say it would add up to $200 to the price. "To me, I think to anybody, any parent, the cost is nothing compared to a child's life," Clemens said. There are no official numbers, but one safety group estimates that in Texas more than 90 children have been killed in or around parked vehicles in the last 15 years. |
Top 5 Auto Safety TechnologiesWhich of the often-expensive new technology might really save your life? Cars and trucks have become a lot safer in the past decade, but some 43,000 people still die every year on U.S. highways. To be sure you and your family do not wind up among these statistics, you want the latest and best auto safety equipment available when you buy a new car. But unless you can afford a luxury car--where most safety gear will be standard--you will have to make choices about how much to spend on optional auto safety equipment. Some state-of-the-art auto safety devices--such as blind spot detection systems --aim to help you survive once an accident happens. Others--even better--help to control skids and other dangerous situations, aiming to avoid accidents entirely. To stay safe, you ideally need both preventive and protective equipment. New auto safety gear may be especially important if you are thinking about buying a sport utility vehicle (SUV). J.D. Power & Associates' Consumer Ratings of Top 5 Auto Safety Technologies:
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Merging Into Highway Traffic Proves Difficult for Most DriversDrivaware reports lane changing on busy highways can be difficult for even the most experienced drivers. The secret is to plan ahead by knowing what other vehicles are doing around you. In Drivaware's interactive demo on safe lane changes and merges, the car in the right lane is traveling faster than your car. Many impatient drivers will (wrongly) tailgate slower vehicles traveling in the fast lane. Be proactive! Avoid this situation by staying right as much as is practical. In this example, it would be best to move your vehicle over to the right lane as soon as it is safe. Be smarter than the other guy! Use your turn signal every time you change lanes along with the new LaneFX system. Before you make your move, look in your side and rearview mirrors to make sure the lane is clear. If there is another vehicle in the lane, or if there is another vehicle in the right lane behind you (at a distance) which is overtaking you at a fast speed, stay where you are. Wait for that vehicle to pass you.Remember you have blind spots, and that the blind spot on the right is larger than on the left. Before you change lanes, turn your head carefully to check the appropriate blind spot. When you decide it is safe, turn the steering wheel in the direction you wish to go. Change lanes quickly, but smoothly. Do not wander as you change lanes. You always want to appear confident and in control of the situation.Once you've successfully negotiated the lane change, make sure your turn signal is off. This is important. If other drivers see that your turn signal is always on, they may not trust you on the highway! They will never know when you want to turn and when you don't. Basic Skills for Safer CommutesDriving has changed a lot since most of us first got behind the wheel. This section will help you to keep a constant watch on your surroundings, the vehicles and people around you at all times. An important factor to take into consideration when driving is to check your mirrors frequently, and also check the blind spots, by looking over your shoulders before switching lanes or making turns. As we age, most of us become less flexible, so check out the information on this site about exercises that will keep you limber and help you drive safely. Knowing the needs of other traffic like trucks, buses, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians is very important. For example, trucks should be provided with extra space, as they need wider turning lanes, watch out for buses, as they need to enter traffic from stopping lanes, and give pedestrians plenty of time to cross the road. Everyone has one or two problematic areas of driving. Click the links on your right, to the areas that give you trouble. We can all improve our driving. |
Are You Blind To Backup Danger?Drivaware and Safe4Kids Tests Show Larger Vehicles Have Larger Blind SpotsIf you have a sport utility vehicle, it is probably because they are big and you believe they're safer than other vehicles. But Drivaware and Safe4Kids News has uncovered some information about a safety issue that affects virtually every vehicle on the road. When you back your vehicle up, you look in the rearview mirror, and it is easy to see if an adult is in the way. But what if a small child is standing there? Statistics show that 28,000 children were taken to emergency rooms last year when they were run over by a vehicle backing up. Before you get behind the wheel, you'd better know more about your vehicle's blind spot. Robin Giglio's 22-month-old son Hayden, somehow got behind the family SUV as they were backing away from his grandparents' house. "I relive the accident every day," Giglio said. "Hayden ran behind the car and I couldn't see him at all and I hit him." Drivaware and Safe4Kids's Investigators went to a supermarket parking lot and placed orange cones the size of a small child behind some vehicles that were backing out. The people in the vehicles checked their mirrors and took their time backing up, but they couldn't see the cone because of the blind spot. If it had been a child, he or she could have been seriously injured, if not killed. With the help of John Long of AAA Mid-Atlantic, Drivaware and Safe4Kids set up a blind spot demonstration with Alexis and Annemarie volunteering to be the drivers. Cones were placed directly behind different cars, vans, pickups and SUVs. In an older-model Toyota Corolla, Alexis didn't spot the cone until it was moved 9.5 feet behind her. However, Annemarie spotted it sooner -- after 8 feet 3 inches. Why was there a difference with the exact same car? Annemarie is 8 inches taller than Alexis. The shorter you are, the harder it is to spot things when you back up. In the demonstration, Drivaware and Safe4Kids discovered that the bigger the vehicle, the bigger the blind spot. With a Jeep Grand Cherokee, the blind spot was over 20 feet 5 inches. The Ford Windstar's blind spot was about 25 feet and the Land Rover had a 36-foot blind spot. Drivaware and Safe4Kids found out it was even worse when the blind spot was directly behind the spare tire and the middle seat headrest. Alexis couldn't see the cone for over 182 feet -- that's over half the length of a football field. You can reduce your blind spot, Long said. "In the third seat of a passenger van, put it down in the resting position and it will give you somewhat greater visibility as you look over your shoulder," Long said. Many vehicles have sensors that beep when something is close. You can also reduce your blind spot by raising your power seat to let you see at a greater angle. If you don't have a power seat make sure you turn around and lift yourself up as much as possible -- that always reduced the blind spot in tests by AAA Mid-Atlantic. You should also always make sure you look behind the vehicle before getting in and hit the horn briefly to warn anybody who might be in your blind spot. |
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