Tesla, Alliance seek U.S. regulators’ OK to ditch side mirrors
The original concept version of the Tesla Model X crossover, shown in 2012, used cameras instead of side mirrors.
WASHINGTON — As long as there have been cars, there have been side mirrors.
But if Tesla Motors and the auto industry’s main lobbying group in Washington get their way, automakers could soon be allowed to ditch these old-school visibility aids in favor of a high-tech solution: cameras.
Tesla and the 12-member Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents such companies as General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen, filed a petition today with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration seeking permission to take that leap.
Side mirrors are required by a U.S. regulation known as Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 111. Tesla and the Alliance argue that cameras could be just as safe while offering gains in aerodynamics. This is because side mirrors have to jut out farther from the car to be effective, and that creates drag.
.
Sure why not – as far as I can tell “immigrants” & lo-fos never use ’em anyhow. Same w/directionals.
Would be a stellar after market opportunity for some entrpreneur who wants to sell side mirrors to people with an IQ higher than a carrot.
Yet another future outlet for streaming internet porn.
Oh…I mean…awesome! Can’t see the potential for any technical glitches there, no siree.
Incandescent light bulbs and automobile side mirrors- what’s next?
Good grief.
Edison and Ford will have a lot to discuss while spinning in their graves.
The last thing we need is another camera and viewer that will require an $800.00 repair when it goes out. I am not worried with aerodynamics or the lack thereof with my side mirrors.
Color me skeptical. How do you keep the cameras clean enough in the winter? I have to rely on my side-view mirrors much of the year because my rear-view mirror is useless–the rear window gets covered with dust and dirt to the extent that you can’t see through it.
OMG!!! Now the NSA will be able to see…um…what’s behind you on the interstate!
And that’s in the Shooting Star!
April Fools?
I hope…
The Stupid – it is strong with these…
Another step towards disposable cars. The geeks are going to rule the world.
Tech breaks and gets hacked. Yeah, mirrors break, but they’re an easier and less expensive fix. So no. IQ higher than a carrot made me laugh.
It sounds like the continuing war on low-tech.
If it’s low-tech and works, it must be bad because it can’t be manipulated through an electronic means by another regulating party.
The same idea applies to firearms with id-chips in them.
No thank you. I’ll stick to simple and reliable.
Next they’ll start requiring that bicycles have insurance…..right before they ban them because they find that people who ride them contribute to too much ‘climate change’ due to higher CO2 exhale levels.
I assume they’re talking about a higher quality camera than I own….by the time I got the film developed it would be too late.
unneutral with the win!
They want to be able to film the redneck in the v8 pickup who’s tailgaiting you while you block the left lane with your electric car.
I don’t see a problem with a relaxation of already overly strict to the point of stupid regulations. I note that what’s being considered is not outlawing mirrors but instead recognizing that a camera/display setup might do as well and they might deign to allow them. As it represents allowing a choice not allowed before, I’m in favor of the change.
As for the assumption that seems to be common that mirrors work well, think again. I’ve driven a lot of cars since I started driving in 1965, and a whole lot of them belonged to somebody else (borrowed, rented, what have you). Even if I didn’t know the physical characteristics of the owner/driver (mainly height), you can tell a fair amount by how the driver’s seat is adjusted. What I’m leading up to is this: I have never, NOT ONCE, found outside mirrors adjusted correctly to maximize the view out the back half of the car [1]. Every single time, the mirrors have been adjusted with the view too close to the side of the car.
When your outside mirrors are adjusted correctly, as a car passes you on either side, as it starts to disappear from your rear view mirror behind the windshield, it should start to appear in the side mirror. If it disappears from the rear view first, then you have a blind spot that could kill you.
1. Trucks are a noteworthy exception. Many have nicely humongous mirrors that show everything you need to see.
Keep the mirrors and let me watch a movie on the screen. Besides, what will the people I follow use to put makeup on?
Chip Foose leaves them off his overhaulin cars.
My new Honda has a blind spot camera in the right side mirror to – old and new technology combined. Also backup camera and lene departure/collision avoidance cameras.
it has the same body style as the 1973 pinto.