| Today’s drivers are more safety conscious than | | | | there are small children around, such as when you're |
| ever. With the popularity of SUVs, trucks, and larger | | | | picking up your child after school or sports practice. |
| vehicles, blind areas behind vehicles are an increasing | | | | Rear parking sensors (sometimes called Rear Park |
| problem. According to a recent survey, over | | | | Assist) ensure that you're made aware of objects |
| one-fourth of all automotive accidents occur when a | | | | behind you when the vehicle is in reverse. |
| vehicle is in reverse. Echo-Location sonar now makes | | | | These parking aid systems contain Echo-Location |
| it affordable for drivers to have an added dimension | | | | sonar used by the US Navy and are designed to |
| of safety. | | | | detect objects near the vehicles' rear bumpers and |
| Ultrasonic and radar systems use sensors mounted in | | | | warn drivers of their proximity during parking |
| the rear bumper to determine the distance of | | | | maneuvers. These systems are designed with |
| objects or people from the vehicle. Audible signals | | | | exclusive patented Voice Distance Indicator (VDI) |
| (e.g., chimes) or visual signals (e.g., dash warning | | | | technology that literally tells the driver the vehicle |
| lights) indicate when an object has been detected. | | | | distance in feet/inches to an obstacle. The sensors |
| These signals may intensify (i.e., get louder or flash | | | | used in these systems operate in all kinds of |
| more rapidly) as the distance between the vehicle | | | | conditions (i.e. Fog, Rain, Snow, Darkness, Bright Sun). |
| and the object or person narrows. | | | | The systems start counting at 8 or 12 feet |
| In vehicles such as cars, minivans and SUVs, it's | | | | (depending on the model) and count down to 12 |
| difficult to get a sense of what's behind you when | | | | inches and are accurate to within +/- 2 inches. |
| you're backing up. This can be a dangerous problem if | | | | |