On a recent press trip to Michigan, I was invited by Chevrolet to drive a 2018 Chevy Traverse for the weekend, and discovered a very cool safety feature that I haven’t stopped thinking about.
In fact, now that I’m back to my regular minivan at home, I find myself really wishing I had what the Traverse has: a rear view mirror with the option to switch between regular mirror mode and a rearview camera mode.
So brilliant!
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Now most new cars now offer a reverse camera on the dash, to show you what’s behind you while you’re backing up. It can be a huge help, but the camera doesn’t help you see what’s coming behind you when your car is in drive and your view might be obstructed.
So what Chevy did is build a camera mode right into the rear view, that displays a clear panoramic view from the back of the car straight on the mirror itself, to give you a better picture of what’s going on around you.
I can see where you might be thinking, “why do I need this? Regular rear view mirrors have been fine for decades.” Well, sure. But as a mom of four kids, my car is often filled with junk — strollers, sports gear, balloons, giant stuffed animals, mountains of groceries, you get the idea — that can block my view (and honestly, have blocked my view) out the rearview mirror.
You may be other obstructions too from time to time, like a trunk area packed to the ceiling in the back of an SUV on a road trip; or a ceiling-mounted DVD player that hangs open and partially blocks the view out the back.
My feeling is hey, why not add this extra safety feature to all cars, giving you a great view behind you no matter what’s in your car.
Anything to make a distracted mom drive more safely with a car full of kids.
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