LaneFX is More Than Just a Car Gadget

Many of the latest car models include systems that alert you when a car is in your blind spot. Those of us with older autos have had rely on our own road skills -- until now. Drivaware has introduced LaneFX: When you activate your turn signal, the device moves the corresponding side-view mirror to expose your blind spot and any vehicles that may be hiding in it. Of course, if you remember your driver's training, a quick glance over your shoulder does essentially the same thing. The LaneFX is compatible with any car that has power mirrors and is available in a Basic Edition ($197), Highway Edition ($242) and Commuter Edition ($296).

Don't Forget About Your Backup Blind Spots

Available ParkFX is the best park assist system to show you the parking boundaries and dangers around you when you're backing up

Are All Blind Spot Mirrors the Same?

No. See Why LaneFX Won the "Drivers Choice" Award by BlindSpotSystems.com

The areas most commonly referred to as blind spots are the rear quarter blind spots, areas towards the rear of the vehicle on both sides. Vehicles in the adjacent lanes of the road may fall into these blind spots, and a driver may be unable to see them using only the car's mirrors.

Other areas that are sometimes called blind spots are those that are too low to see behind and in front of a vehicle. Also, in cases where side vision is hindered, areas to the left or right can become blind spots as well.

Beware of Setting Your Mirrors "Wide"

Mirror alignment is often done incorrectly by drivers. There is a tendency to want to provide context for the side mirror view by having the rear of the driver's own vehicle in the mirror frame. When improperly aligned the side view mirrors widen the perspective offered by rear view mirror, but still not providing full coverage of the blind spot areas around SUV's, light trucks, minivans and even commercial vans.

Even with a head-turn, the driver should continue to look forward, in the direction the car is traveling. This is accomplished by using the correct blind spot mirrors or blind spot detection system. Exaggerated head-turns, where the driver actually faces backward for a moment to check the blind spot, are dangerous because the vehicle in front may come to a sudden stop just at that instant resulting in a rear-end collision.

LaneFX Standard Features to Make Every Lane Change Safer

Q. Even though LaneFX is ultra simple concept, you've managed to make LaneFX a very feature rich product. Correct?

A. Absolutely. Let me give you a brief walk through of the features and add-on options of the LaneFX system:

1. First we talked about the universal fit of LaneFX.
2. Second, ease of installation (which you have to remember quick installations mean less cost of ownership to the customer and faster seamless installations mean higher customer satisfaction). The way we were about to simplified installation on hundreds if not thousands of power mirror systems is by using an Intelligent Learn Technology. So all the installer has to do is hook up a set of 3 wires on either side of LaneFX module. And then all the installer has to do is start learn mode and the unit "learns" the wiring setup of the vehicle and configures itself on that basis. No complex wiring diagram, no programming required.
3. Third, all mirror movements are fully customizable at installation. We wanted to make LaneFX as responsive to the driver and tailored to the driver's preferences as possible. So with every LaneFX unit, each driver can customize how far the mirror opens up, how long it pauses when it gets there, and even how fast the mirror should move. You can control your preferences separately for the right and left mirror.
4. LaneFX is intended to be a concealed unit either under the dash or in the trunk. So these adjustments should be made at installation and you can always tweak them or change occasionally after that.
5. Another feature we offer in the system is control of both mirrors. So you control the left and right mirror separately or concurrently.

Q. And all of these features you mentioned are standard in every LaneFX box?

A. Yes. That's correct.

Q. But I also understand that you have a number of optional add-on components that a customer can choose to further enhance his/hers LaneFX system.

A. Our team has worked very diligently to research what consumers would like to have in their complete LaneFX system. Let me share with you a quick list of what some of these options are:

1. First is a very inexpensive add-on component we have that we think is going to be very popular, especially among entry level domestic vehicles is the optional Mirror Speed Boost. With this component owners of vehicles with slow moving power mirrors can safely boost their mirror movement speeds up to 200% of OEM speed. This will provide drivers with a way to ensure that LaneFX movement is responsive to their driving needs. All of the mirror speeds are customizable by the driver from 80% to 200% of OEM speed, and those adjustments can be done separately for left and right mirrors.
2. Second we have a great optional component that's quite frankly is a driver awareness system in and of itself: ParkFX. ParkFX is an active park assist and curb exposure system that uses your side mirrors to expose the parking boundaries around your vehicle as your backing up. Much in the same LaneFX moves your mirror outward to expose the blind spot next to you and behind you, ParkFX tilts the blind spot mirror downward when you put the vehicle in reverse to expose either the parking lines let's say if you were in a mall parking lot, or more importantly to expose the curb in parallel parking situations. When you take the car out of reverse, the mirror comes back to its original position, every single time. Just like LaneFX, ParkFX is universal and fully-customizable to the driver's preferences. The system works on any vehicle, new or old, domestic or import, manual or automatic transmission. And you can choose to have ParkFX control the left, right or both mirrors. And to be complete, you can also configure at installation how much ParkFX should tilt each of these mirrors when the vehicle is backing up. So for a big SUV, you can choose the blind spot mirrors to tilt down farther than say someone who drives a small sedan. Everything is universal and fully-customizable to your needs.
3. Thirdly is an add-on component we are very proud of: our Turn Signal Link integration kit. I put my blinker on and that activates LaneFX to show me my blind spot before I change lanes? Yes exactly. And you can also configure the Turn Signal Link integration kit to activate only when the vehicle is moving above certain speed, like over 55mph to have it only activate on when you're on the highway, or say over 35mph in an urban city setting.
4. The forth in our options list is a plug-and-play wireless controls kit. We've heard time and time again that drivers would ideally like the LaneFX controls at the finger tips, just like your horn or turn signal stalk. this tiny module I am holding is an example of a left-hand wireless control. So we designed this wireless kit so that installers never have to worry about running wires to the steering wheel (which is a no no) and to give the customer to place the controls anywhere. The wireless controls kit includes two controls for left and right and is designed to fit behind one of your steering-wheel spokes. The placement is meant to avoid competing with the increasing number of OEM buttons on the front of the steering wheel. Also the placement behind the top spoke make the LaneFX control within the reach of a finger tip without having to move a hand off the steering wheel regardless in you drive with your hands in the 10-to-2 position or racing style.
5. One more plug-and-play optional component which is our Speed Sensitivity Mode. This is an add-on component that integrates with OBDII port of virtually any vehicle and continuously reads the vehicle speed. The LaneFX module is pre-programmed to take advantage of this option and it then produces more dynamic mirror movement based on the vehicle speed. This ensures an ever greater degree of responsiveness to the driver's needs in real-time. So LaneFX moves the mirror faster at say 70mph than at 55mph? Exactly right, and it also pauses less when it reaches its maximum expansion angle at higher speeds.

Compare Backup Sensors & Cameras to ParkFX for the Most Reliable Backup Warning Technology

Not all reversing aids are equal. The sensing technology and the indicating method are critical to your driving safety.

How A Park Assist System Alerts You

One option is video, which at first seems like a great choice. But one major flaw with having a video camera affixed to the back of your car with a monitor on your dashboard is that it also forces you to look forward while backing up. That can disturb your perception, your reaction time, and feel very unnatural. They are also extremely expensive, and you'll pay thousands of dollars to have a video system attached to your car, whether from the dealer or an aftermarket supplier.

Compare that to other bargain basement devices which actually have LED displays (little red lights) on your dashboard. These are cumbersome -- almost useless -- for much the same reason as video: when you drive in reverse, you naturally look behind you, and you'll never see the little red lights. They are also hard to read in bright sunlight.

Some other bargain technologies use a tone which beeps more rapidly as you get closer to an obstacle. You can at least hear the relative distance just by listening to the beeps, but you have to practice a bit to really understand how far you are from danger.

That's why an audible voice sensor is best. It tells you in a spoken voice exactly how far away you are. Not only do you not have to awkwardly look forward at your dashboard, you'll know without guessing how much further you can safely back up.

How A Reversing Aid Detects Objects

If you've never seen or used a reversing aid, you might be surprised at how technically advanced they actually can be.

Reversing aids use a variety of technologies to sense an object behind the car. Some units use Doppler radar, and others use infrared sensors, but by far the most accurate method of detection is the one the U.S. Navy uses on its submarines: sonar.

Sonar can operate in any weather, including direct sunlight or rain. And it doesn't require that the car be moving in order to sense an obstruction.

ParkFX for Your SUV - Prevent a Tragedy

At least once a week a child in America is run over, typically in backup (reversing) accidents

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.