Patent ID: 8442755

Claim:
A system for a motor vehicle including a motor vehicle side door and an outside rear view mirror, the system comprising: a door motor coupled to the motor vehicle side door and configured to selectively prevent movement of the motor vehicle side door toward a fully open position; a camera coupled to the outside rear view mirror and positioned to monitor an area external to the vehicle and adjacent the motor vehicle side door, the camera configured to determine a first distance between the motor vehicle side door and an obstacle detected within the monitored area; a motor controller operatively coupled to the door motor and configured to selectively disable the motor vehicle side door by commanding the door motor to prevent movement of the motor vehicle side door toward the fully open position; and a processor operatively coupled to the camera and to the motor controller, the processor configured to transmit a signal to the motor controller to disable the motor vehicle side door if the first distance is within a first threshold distance of the motor vehicle side door.