Patent ID: 8013889

Claim:
A peripheral viewing system for a vehicle wherein said vehicle includes two opposing sides, a steering wheel positioned within a passenger compartment and a rear, the viewing system comprising: a pair of cameras, one of said cameras mounted on one of said sides of the vehicle, another of said cameras mounted on another of said sides of the vehicle; a pair of video displays mounted within said passenger compartment, and positioned therein to be readily visible by a driver, each video display in selective communication with a designated one of said cameras; a microprocessor means in communication with each of said cameras and said displays for continuously processing images received from each of said cameras and for continuously transmitting said images to each of said displays; a third camera mounted on the rear of said vehicle, said third camera connected to said microprocessor means; a third video display mounted within the vehicle passenger compartment, said third video display in selective communication with said third camera via said microprocessor means for continuously depicting images behind said vehicle; a warning means for alerting a driver of an approaching vehicle; wherein said warning means comprises: a phototransistor mounted on each side of said vehicle, adjacent the rear thereof, each of said phototransistors electrically connected to said microprocessor means; an audible alarm means electrically connected to said microprocessor means for audibly alerting a driver if said phototransistors detect a trailing vehicle within a predetermined range of said vehicle; wherein said vehicle includes a turn signal switch means electrically connected to said microprocessor means for exclusively activating said audible alarm means if said trailing vehicle is within the predetermined range of said vehicle.