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Any driver with experience at least once, but be sure to get into such an unpleasant situation as hitting an obstacle when parking. This problem is particularly relevant for large cities, where the lack of parking spaces makes drivers show the maximum skill, trying to squeeze their cars into a small gap between other vehicles. In general, the movement in the reverse direction is unnatural for a person. It is not surprising that for one "ace" who knows how to park in any conditions, there are a hundred of those for whom this procedure is a real test and cause of stress. It is no coincidence that today the most common damage to cars is damage to the rear bumper.

Comparison of parking sensors and rearview camera.

Ещё одной причиной неуверенности водителей при движении задним ходом является ограниченный обзор. Неважно, смотрите ли вы в зеркало заднего вида, или просто поворачиваете голову назад – всё равно существуют «мёртвые» зоны и вероятность повреждения автомобиля при наезде на препятствия, расположенные в этом непросматриваемом пространстве. Разумеется, производители автомобилей и аксессуаров для них не могли не предпринять определённых усилий, чтобы исправить ситуацию. Так появились парктроники и видеокамеры заднего вида, помогающие водителю лучше ориентироваться при движении реверсом. В данной статье мы рассмотрим, что лучше: парктроник или камера заднего вида, опишем достоинства и недостатки каждого из этих девайсов, обеспечивающих безопасность при езде задним ходом.Читать далее про то что лучше: парктроник или камера заднего вида-->

What is parking sensors

Ultra-high-frequency radar, or a more common option - ultrasonic sonars, called PDCs, are designed to inform the driver about the situation arising when the car moves in the reverse direction. In 80% of cases, such maneuvers are made during parking. However, due to the technical features of such devices, one sensor has a rather narrow girth zone, therefore most modern cars are equipped with a system of at least three pairs of emitters and a receiver.

Low-cost Parktronic when detecting obstacles just squeak, warning the driver about the danger. The features of Parktronic with more advanced functionality allow not only to see the interference, but also with the help of a multi-channel digital audio system to notify which side this obstacle is located. Sometimes the driver can see in the rearview mirror what caused the parking sensors, but most often the obstacle is located out of sight, forcing the driver to either finish the maneuver or, if this is not possible, get out of the car to assess the situation visually.

Advantages of Parktronic

Like any modern technical device, Parktronic has both advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages of parking radar are the following:

• low cost compared to a rear-view camera with a similar coverage area;
• To install parking sensors, you do not need to additionally buy a display, which is very important for many models of passenger cars due to the perceived complexity and high cost of replacing a regular audio player with a monitor;
• Safe parking radars are able to perform their functions regardless of visibility conditions - at night, in rain or fog. A video camera is usually blind or ineffective in such situations.

Disadvantages of radar

Unfortunately, the number of minuses of parking radar is comparable to the number of advantages, but in any case, their use significantly increases the safety of maneuvers when reversing. So, the disadvantages of Parktronic:

1. Low information content - as already noted, they simply signal the presence of an obstacle, without providing any visual information about its characteristics and features.
2. Parktronic, consisting of 3 - 4 sensors, does not scan the entire area behind the car, it also has "blind" zones. There were cases when the radar did not inform about the presence of sufficiently serious obstacles (for example, a piece of stump, a small reinforcement sticking out of the asphalt, stones or hillocks characteristic of any rough terrain). In such cases, you will not save your vehicle from hitting. The camera also forms a video sequence that allows the driver to visually assess the degree of threat and make an appropriate decision without leaving the car.
3. Parktronics do not always adequately react to the snow, perceiving it as an insurmountable obstacle and reacting to it with a ceaseless signal. This is not only annoying, but also reduces the chances of time to react to a really serious danger, forcing particularly nervous drivers to turn off the parking radar.
4. Another significant drawback of parking sensors is the need to install sensors on the rear bumper. To do this, it will have to be dismantled, drilled in three or four places, to provide wiring to the salon. And if you plan to install the sonar and the front, then the same actions will have to be done with the front bumper. Camera installation often does not require such sacrifices.

Rear View Camera

Since the camera is a technically more sophisticated and sophisticated device than a radar, such means of ensuring security during reverse movement appeared a little later. But almost immediately won respect among motorists, allowing not only to warn about the occurrence of an invisible barrier on the way of a vehicle, but also to transmit the video to the monitor installed on the dashboard. This allows you to visually assess the degree of threat and determine the distance to the identified obstacles. Both kits equipped with a camera and a monitor, as well as more affordable options, consisting of a single camera that can be connected to a standard display when available, are available on the market. Regardless of the variety, the wiring is included in the delivery package, ensuring reliable communication between the camera and the video display device. To determine for yourself what is better - the rear camera or parking sensors, we now describe the advantages of the second type of devices.

Advantages of the rear view camera

The advantages of video devices for visualizing what is happening right behind the rear bumper are obvious:

1. More informative than parktronic: the ability to see the real picture of what is happening, instead of focusing exclusively on hearing and guessing, and what is there for an obstacle behind.
2. Modern cameras are either supplied with displays, or they can and can work with standard multimedia devices with a monitor. Connection and setup of the camera in this case are carried out quite simply, the whole process is described in detail in the instructions for the camera.
3. Installation of modern rear view cameras does not require drilling holes in the bumper, it can be installed anywhere. Often on sale you can find video devices, adapted to a specific model of car.
4. Ease of use of the camera is much higher than that of the PDC - with its help, you can even perform such a maneuver of increased complexity, as taxiing around the corner when reversing.

Camera flaws

Since Parktronic is still very popular, this indicates the presence of certain deficiencies in rear view cameras. We describe them so that you can make a more or less objective assessment:

1. High enough cost, especially devices with a good resolution of the level of HD. But if the budget for the purchase is limited, it is possible to get along with a lower price level camera - in this case, the camera will cost you about the same cost as the radar, given the cost of installation and configuration of devices.
2. In low light conditions, the camera is almost useless. If you often park in the dark, the rear view camera Discounts for new cars! Profitable loan from 9.9% installments 0% adom.ru you are not an assistant.
3. The camera installed outside after long journeys in bad weather or on bad roads is covered with a layer of dirt that prevents the normal transmission of the video sequence. The same thing happens when the temperature is below zero: the device's glass freezes, becoming covered with ice, so you have to clean it, which can cause scratches and deterioration in the quality of the image transmitted to the monitor.
4. In the absence of a regular multimedia device equipped with a display, certain problems may arise when installing the rear view camera. As a rule, they are associated with a mismatch in the dimensions of the display that comes with the kit, or the need to purchase it if the camera is delivered in its pure form. You may have to abandon the car, which is not always satisfied with the owner of the car. However, in such cases, you can purchase a device with a monitor that integrates into the rear-view mirror, although this is not a good option for everyone.

What to choose?

As we see, the features of the technical implementation of both types of devices do not allow calling one of them ideal, and the other obsolete. Much depends on the cost factor, as well as the personal preferences of the car owner. If the question of which is better, parking sensors or a rear-view camera, you still have not found the answer, you should choose the option with the simultaneous use of both devices. Security experts recommend this way of ensuring that what is happening behind the vehicle during the maneuvering of the reverse is visible. This increases the safety of parking almost an order of magnitude.

Manufacturers of both cameras and radar work a lot to improve their devices, but an ordinary motorist is interested not only in the description of their strengths and weaknesses, but also in the results of comparative testing. In this regard, interesting will be the data obtained by experts of the Insurance Institute for Road Safety (USA), who conducted a study related to the identification of risks when parking cars equipped with both radars and video devices.

For the experiment, the car was used Chevrolet Equinox, equipped with parking sensors, and a rear-view camera. The study conditions were as follows: first 21, and then another hundred volunteers tried to park with the participation of children's dummies of different ages and height. Of course, the mannequins were installed in such a place that they were not visible in the side mirrors.

Each of the subjects was asked to try to park, using all four available options:

• using only mirrors
• with the help of parking sensors;
• guided by the testimony of the camcorder;
• using both devices at the same time.

The results of the experiment were not too predictable: if the number of emergencies when parking using only mirrors was expected to be the highest, then with regard to the integrated method, the recommendations of the experts were untenable, because unexpectedly the accident rate was higher than using either a video camera or a radar. The reason for this result is a weakening of attention on the part of the driver, confident that he will certainly not miss any obstacle.

As for the choice between Parktronic and the camera, here the test results were in favor of the latter device, which is not surprising due to its greater information content. It is worth considering that the experiment was conducted under ideal conditions, so relying on its results as the ultimate truth is not worth it.