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The Blind Spot Warning (BSW) system uses cameras, radar, and/or ultrasonic sensors next to your vehicle to detect vehicles next to or behind vehicles that you cannot see. If a vehicle is detected there, the driver will usually receive a visual warning on the exterior mirror or front pillar. When the driver activates the turn signal, some BSW systems will sound and/or tactile (such as shaking the steering wheel) warning to indicate that it is unsafe to merge or change lanes.
There are two types of these systems:
Blind Spot Warning (BSW): Drivers will receive audible and/or visual warnings to alert them that there is a vehicle in their blind spot. If the turn signal is activated when it is unsafe to merge or change lanes, the system may provide additional warnings.
Blind Spot Warning with Automatic Emergency Steering (BSW w/AES): When the steering signal is activated during a lane change operation and the vehicle occupies a blind spot in an adjacent lane, the system will automatically steer and/or brake.
In a recent survey, we asked CR members to rate their experience of using advanced safety and driver assistance systems on 2015-2019 models. Respondents answered their questions about system satisfaction and told us what helped them avoid crashes. The survey covered approximately 72,000 vehicles. See the highlights below.
Special report: car safety system that can save your life
CR members consider the most satisfactory systems: Genesis, Jeep, Lexus. Genesis owners from New York praised BSW and wrote: “This is the most valuable technology ever invented. It saves my wife and I. Because of countless accidents, we would never buy another car without it!" A Subaru owner explained how it helped them, said: "During my initial test drive, before I changed lanes on the interstate to overtake. , It saves me from skidding the car that just changed lanes."
Most dissatisfied: BMW, Volkswagen, Tesla A BMW owner pointed out some system limitations and wrote: "If my speed is less than 30 mph, it will actually shut down. What are they thinking? It doesn’t work in bumper traffic! Or [in] slow-moving traffic. In addition, the light is not in the mirror, so if the light is on, it won’t be immediately obvious. It’s also hard to see if it’s too dry.” A Tes Pulling the driver through some blind spot warnings reveals a factor-the location of the warning: "The blind spot monitoring system is only displayed on the central display panel, and is out of sight of the driver who uses any rear-view mirror when changing lanes."
CR's view: BSW is one of the security features recommended by CR. CR awards bonus points for all models that use it as standard equipment in all decorations, and our members also give it high praise. It can change lanes more safely, which is a real boon for drivers driving vehicles with large blind spots. CR’s testers prefer a system with bright warning lights on the side-view mirrors, rather than on the infotainment display or dashboard. Even if shoppers have to pay extra for this feature, we don’t think they will regret it.
We will tell you which security system owners like and which brands do best.
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