2019 Ram 1500 chief engineer demos new blind spot detection & other safety features

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Updated Jul 9, 2018
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The dreaded blind spot. Safe driving hinges on being aware of vehicles around you especially if you’re towing.

To that end Ram is offering blind spot monitoring with rear cross path and trailer detection on its 2019 1500 pickup.

A yellow triangle flashes in the mirror to alert the driver of a vehicle that’s entering the blindspot of the 2019 Ram 1500.A yellow triangle flashes in the mirror to alert the driver of a vehicle that’s entering the blindspot of the 2019 Ram 1500.

Mike Raymond, Ram’s chief engineer for the 1500, recently demonstrated the radar-based technology while towing a trailer at the company’s proving grounds in Chelsea, Mich.

As you’ll see in the video below, a vehicle enters the blind spot of a 2019 1500 Laramie Longhorn driven by Raymond. A yellow triangle flashes a warning on the side mirror and an audible chime sounds off to alert the driver.

Raymond goes over other safety features for 2019, including Lane Sense. The semi-autonomous feature will sense when the pickup veers out of its lane and take corrective action tailored to the driver’s preferences.

“With our lane keep assist feature a customer can come in and put in different levels of sensitivity,” Raymond says. “With that countering torque (of the steering wheel), you can set the strength of that torque to be either low, medium or high.”