New “mirror less” lorries

[gsxbarmy]

....COPIED AND PASTED.....

A friend of mine, who is a lorry driver just shared this.......

Please take note as we start to ride again. If you see a truck with no mirrors then it probably is equipped with a new camera system which appears to be slightly flawed. Take note and take care!

Just a little heads up for you guys. Today I had the pleasure (not) of driving a new Merc truck fitted with mirror cameras, from a bikers point of view, they're bloody awful. Although you no longer have the big blindspot caused by the half-acre of plastic sticking out, which makes it hard to see approaching bikes on a roundabout, you now have quite a large area beside the cab that isn't covered by the wide-angle section of the mirror, and you could easily lose sight of a bike if you're not careful. It is also impossible to get a better view by moving your head, as it's like looking at the TV, no matter where you stand, the picture isn't going to change. Probably the worst bit though is the lack of eye contact, especially in slow moving traffic. With normal mirrors, I can see you, and you can see me, and that little bit of eye contact makes a massive difference. With the camera, you have no way of telling whether I've seen you or not, so it's best to assume that I haven't.
So there you go, if a truck has cameras instead of mirrors, give it a bit more room, don't get anywhere near the corners of the cab, and never assume the driver knows that you're filtering up to the front of the queue.
Stay safe 😀

[DP1400]

I`ve noticed these newer Merc. trucks without external mirrors. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the mirrors are within the cab. Are you saying that they are supplimented by some sort of a camera system too? 

[gsxbarmy]

I`ve noticed these newer Merc. trucks without external mirrors. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the mirrors are within the cab. Are you saying that they are supplimented by some sort of a camera system too?

Exactly so, and/or the camera system actually replaces the mirrors completely

[DP1400]

Thanks for the heads up . Sounds dodgy to me, trouble is they'll all be fitting this system before long i've no doubt.

[grog]

Around here mirrorless has been fitted for a long time. Cars, trucks, busses even motorcycles. They all have mirrors, drivers just dont use them.

[Tonythetiger]

As a trucker I can tell you that I know quite a few people who drive those new Mercs and they really don't like the camera system. If it's bright sunlight behind the truck it whites out the monitor so if your filtering they would NOT see you coming. They also cost about £3000 to replace when they get damaged. I don't want them on my truck EVER.  TTT

[Milts]

@gsxbarmy  Thanks for sharing.