Changing The Driving Experience

[Danno]

I assume other folks on here realize this vehicle is going to change the social driving experience...in the vehicle I mean.
On the way home from the Columbus OH event, I explained to my son that the interpersonal part of the drive will be changed, much like when there are people in the back seat on a drive.
Others thoughts??

 

[Danno]

...and with no rear view mirror it will be completely different than a normal car!

 

[DWR]

...and with no rear view mirror it will be completely different than a normal car!

Back in my younger days, I drove a box truck for a few years. They don't have a rear view mirror either. You'll be suprised how quickly you'll adapt to that. Just get some small blind spot mirrors and stick them on the outside rear view mirrors and you'll be fine.

 

[saint451]

I actually do this(SAE Adjustment) And when the rearview mirror fell off the windshield of my F250, all I used was sides.

This adjustment works great for blind-spot. I do adjust them just a touch further out so I can see the lanes to my left or right. When a car starts coming up on me, I can see it in the mirror up to the point the nose of the car is even with my side window.

So maybe with a rear facing camera do-hickey and following this adjustment, many should be very comfortable. BTW. I glued the mirror back after a year...for others to drive it.
Or just buckle down and get the blind-spot detection option!

From the March 2010 Issue of Car and Driver

For the past few years, various carmakers have been offering blind-spot detection systems for their cars’ side mirrors. Often complex, these systems employ cameras or radar to scan the adjoining lanes for vehicles that may have disappeared from view.

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) published a paper in 1995 suggesting how outside mirrors could be adjusted to eliminate blind spots. The paper advocates adjusting the mirrors so far outward that the viewing angle of the side mirrors just overlaps that of the cabin’s rearview mirror. This can be disorienting for drivers used to seeing the flanks of their own car in the side mirrors. But when correctly positioned, the mirrors negate a car’s blind spots. This obviates the need to glance over your shoulder to safely change lanes as well as the need for an expensive blind-spot warning system.
The only problem is getting used to the SAE-recommended mirror positions. The cabin’s rearview mirror is used to keep an eye on what is coming up from behind, while the outside mirrors reflect the area outside the view of the inside rearview mirror.

Those who have switched to the SAE’s approach swear by it, however, some drivers can’t adjust to not using the outside mirrors to see directly behind the car and miss being able to see their own car in the side mirrors. To them we say, “Have fun filling out those accident reports.”

Drive Defensively!!!

 

[Jeff Miller]

I assume other folks on here realize this vehicle is going to change the social driving experience...in the vehicle I mean.
On the way home from the Columbus OH event, I explained to my son that the interpersonal part of the drive will be changed, much like when there are people in the back seat on a drive.
Others thoughts??

I think you are absolutely correct. When on a motorcycle I don't even bother trying to communicate with a passenger even at low speed. On the motorcycle the passenger can get close enough to my ear to scream something at me but whatever I say is usually impossible for the passenger to hear. The elio will be quieter but I suspect it will be a similar experience. Add to that that you can't see the other person and it takes away a bit more personal interaction.

A possible solution might be to mount cheap tablets front and back and run a skype session between them. It should give you both voice and picture. Of course, it would be best to do that over a local network in the car vs. your internet connection on a phone. All possible but I don't know how useful it would be.

Do kids interact with drivers? I suspect that most rear passengers will be kids and it seems all the kids I see in cars have themselves plugged into something electronic and don't even bother to look at the world passing by so trying to carry on a conversation with them may be a moot point.

If the passenger is your spouse, well it might be nice to have a break from them also . I say that somewhat facetiously but when I think about traveling with my wife on separate motorcycles we often have the better conversations when we stop than we if we had been talking all the time in a car.

Ultimately I don't anticipate carrying a passenger all that often, if ever, so it isn't a huge issue for me.

 

[zelio]

I assume other folks on here realize this vehicle is going to change the social driving experience...in the vehicle I mean.
On the way home from the Columbus OH event, I explained to my son that the interpersonal part of the drive will be changed, much like when there are people in the back seat on a drive.
Others thoughts??

Although I have never experienced it, most young families already have driven with significant others in the back seat with the child in the car seat also back there. I have found that even in my quiet Camry, if there are 3 or 4 people in the car, conversation is actually limited because it is difficult to hear front to back. Maybe we need to have some of those headphone sets used by motorcyclists to aid in communication. LOL :-) Z

 

[ThreeWheelBurnin]

I actually do this(SAE Adjustment) And when the rearview mirror fell off the windshield of my F250, all I used was sides.

This adjustment works great for blind-spot. I do adjust them just a touch further out so I can see the lanes to my left or right. When a car starts coming up on me, I can see it in the mirror up to the point the nose of the car is even with my side window.

So maybe with a rear facing camera do-hickey and following this adjustment, many should be very comfortable. BTW. I glued the mirror back after a year...for others to drive it.
Or just buckle down and get the blind-spot detection option!

From the March 2010 Issue of Car and Driver

For the past few years, various carmakers have been offering blind-spot detection systems for their cars’ side mirrors. Often complex, these systems employ cameras or radar to scan the adjoining lanes for vehicles that may have disappeared from view.

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) published a paper in 1995 suggesting how outside mirrors could be adjusted to eliminate blind spots. The paper advocates adjusting the mirrors so far outward that the viewing angle of the side mirrors just overlaps that of the cabin’s rearview mirror. This can be disorienting for drivers used to seeing the flanks of their own car in the side mirrors. But when correctly positioned, the mirrors negate a car’s blind spots. This obviates the need to glance over your shoulder to safely change lanes as well as the need for an expensive blind-spot warning system.
The only problem is getting used to the SAE-recommended mirror positions. The cabin’s rearview mirror is used to keep an eye on what is coming up from behind, while the outside mirrors reflect the area outside the view of the inside rearview mirror.

Those who have switched to the SAE’s approach swear by it, however, some drivers can’t adjust to not using the outside mirrors to see directly behind the car and miss being able to see their own car in the side mirrors. To them we say, “Have fun filling out those accident reports.”

Drive Defensively!!!

I've always adjusted my side mirrors as above. I didn't think there was any other way. I just figured if my rear view mirror was looking behind me, why would I want the side mirrors looking back there, too? To each his own, I suppose.

 

[BlioKart]

Dont let one rip you will make one hell of a dutch oven.

 

[Jim H]

...and with no rear view mirror it will be completely different than a normal car!

For us old motorcycle riders it is not much different than having a passenger on the back of our motorcycle.

 

[tazairforce]

Although I have never experienced it, most young families already have driven with significant others in the back seat with the child in the car seat also back there. I have found that even in my quiet Camry, if there are 3 or 4 people in the car, conversation is actually limited because it is difficult to hear front to back. Maybe we need to have some of those headphone sets used by motorcyclists to aid in communication. LOL Z

Z, don't spend money on head phones, just do like bikers do when carrying a passenger.
Very nicely say, 'Get in, Sit down and Shut Up til we get there'. Maybe add 'And Enjoy the ride'.