In the world of auto glass, many advances in manufacturing technology, installation, repair and replacement have largely gone under the radar. To a consumer, this is behind-the-scenes technology, so that is not very surprising. Occasionally, however, technologies come into the spotlight, and the new Honda Accord has a certain feature that is deserving of that spotlight.
The blind spot has long been an obstacle when driving, trying to spot what is beside you, and that usually results in physically turning to look in order to be sure there is no one there, pedestrian or vehicle. The 2013 Honda Accord brings a new assistive technology to the market that will help drivers do exactly that – called Lane Watch.
Lane Watch takes advantage of very small cameras embedded in the right side mirror, linked to the navigation system in the vehicle. When the right turn signal is activated, the Lane Watch system will automatically display video footage of the blind spot on that side, right there on the screen in front of you. This means when you use your turn signal to prepare for a right turn or merge you won’t have to look back over your right shoulder to check for a vehicle.
According to Honda, they decided that this camera feature in the left mirror would be counterintuitive, because it would require that the driver look right toward the screen, instead of left. The lack of a driver side feature could be a con rather than a pro for some. The driver side mirror, rather than a camera, features a convex strip on the outer edge to slightly widen the view.
The Lane Watch camera provides the driver with an 80 degree field of view on the right side, instead of the relatively tiny 20 or so degrees of visibility from a conventional side mirror.
Honda’s Lane Watch system is currently available on new Accord EX and EX-L models.
