Compare Reversing Aid Technologies

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

How A Reversing Aid 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.

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