“Check rear park aid.”
That’s what my 2011 Ford Expedition Max’s instrument panel computer told me yesterday, after I drove over some muddy gravel. Just slightly muddy, but still, it was wet. Maybe some mud got onto a sonar sensor. Maybe the wire was loose. I’m not sure. Usually, this problem seems to solve itself.
These sensors are pretty handy when driving what, I believe, is currently the largest SUV in large-scale production right now. The Max adds at least a foot to the length, allowing for a 4x8 foot sheet of OSB to be carried internally (came in handy last week).
Driving such a behemoth comes with many challenges. Compared to the Geo Metro I used to drive, the Expedition is like docking an aircraft carrier without the tugboat. My wife’s F-150 is more like a supertanker, again, without the tugboat. Thankfully, both have integrated backup cameras to assist.
So, too, will your next new vehicle, no matter the size, thanks to an announcement in late October from Transport Canada. Starting in May 2018, all newly manufactured vehicles in Canada will be required to have such devices. This synchronizes Canada’s requirements with those south of the border. Cameras, cameras everywhere.
I’ve had this vehicle for 2.5 years now, and I still have a tough time getting used to it and its backup camera. It’s not our first, however. My wife’s 2009 F-150 has one of the first production-model backup cameras I’ve seen in a truck. It’s very useful, especially for lining up a trailer. The superimposed centre line makes trailer hookups a snap. But the small screen integrated into the left side of the rearview mirror throws me for a loop. If I focus on the camera, my eyes go all squirrelly looking over a few inches at the main mirror and vice versa.
Similarly, on my Expedition, the much larger screen is mounted in the centre of the dash. It’s a lot easier to see, but now I get a little discombobulated, looking at the outside mirrors, centre mirror, camera, over my shoulder and back.
This is where those rear sonar sensors are useful. As I’m trying to dock my aircraft carrier, the audio cues make me feel a little more comfortable that I’m not about to make something go splat.
The reality is, it is best to avoid backing up as much as possible. I’m trying to teach this to No. 1 daughter, long before she actually hits the road.
Through defensive driving training I’ve taken through pipeline work and the military, one thing stuck out at me – backing up is a bad idea, especially when leaving a parking spot. Circle check first, but avoid the situation entirely if possible.
You can always identify a long-time pipeliner. Even in his off-duty time, he will back in to park. Pipeline yards are full of pickups parked with their noses out. The reason for this is, while most vehicles arrive singly, they usually leave all at once. Having up to a few hundred guys leaving the parking lot at the same time, backing up one-ton dualies is a recipe for disaster. If you back in when you parked, you can see ahead of you when you leave, thus avoiding squishing anyone or anything.
Larger vehicles, i.e. one-tons, are also more maneuverable in reverse, making it easier to actually fit in a parking spot in the first place.
This back-in policy has spread to other areas of the oilpatch. I am seeing back-in only signs at probably half of the oil patch business I visit now.
You can identify a military-trained driver by the sound they make. Since most non-industrial vehicles lack backup alarms, they are required to honk twice before backing up. I don’t do that often, but have on occasion, to the incredulous looks all around. I guess it hasn’t caught on yet.
When it comes to parking lots, I will almost always park further out, at the edge of the pack and park so my nose is facing out, effectively “backed in.” I even park in my driveway like that on most days.
Hopefully these backup cameras will save some lives, particularly of little kids who disappear behind large vehicles. It’s a great idea whose time has come. I’d like to see universal backup sonar, too. Maybe back-in policies in more places should be next on the agenda.
— Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net.
