Extra Wide Rear View Mirror Eliminates Blind Spots

Of course it doesn't ....
I'm sure any self respecting police motorcyclist could still sit behind obscured by the rear pillar.

Del

J.C. Whitney sold them for years.

Must be a slow start to the new year in the gadget world, as I've had one of these mirrors for years. Works well in my RX-8. As someone mentioned in a previous post, J.C. Whitney's been selling them for quite some time. Check them out before you fork over $60 to Hammacher-Schlemmer.

This is news? These things have been around for at least 30 years. Of course all that has been pointed out. Might I suggest a bit better editing? Before there's an article on power tubes as new technology? OK, cynic off...

What hasn't been pointed out is that, for some people, the change in perspective in the mirror segments can also be confusing. The mirrors can also take up some of the forward vision depending on the position of the mirror in the windshield.

There is a better way to eliminate blind spots. You have to set up your side view mirrors differently than you think. This is going to sound weird but it works.

Sit in the driver's seat. Lean your head all the way over to the left (in the US) so that it touches the window lightly. Then adjust the left mirror so that you can just see the rear fender in the lower right corner of the mirror. Lean your head over to the right and bring it into a line with the center of the windscreen and asjust the right mirror so that you see a little of the fender in the lower left corner of the mirror.

The center mirror will have to be centered out the rear window.

Now the mirrors are set to cover the rear view with only slight overlaps. You've eliminated the typical "blind spots" that you've been living with. The big change is that you have to use the center mirror to see the car you've passed before you pull back in.

I drive a Toyota FJ Crusier, which has terrible rearward vision. This method has worked for me. Got it from a "Popular Mechanics" whilst waiting for a haircut. Guess that wasn't wasted time....

Dang - guess I should go to work for Pop. Mech. - I've had my sides adjusted that way for years - thought everybody did it that way, or I'd have spoken up sooner! And those extra-wides can be had at Wally-World for cheap, too.

In all these extra-wide angle mirrors, the important thing to remember is that the mirror view is distorted.

Angles and distances are different from the real world, and may lead to driver confusion, error and accidents.

If you do really need good rear vision, set the two outside ones so as to give good rear/side visibility, as you overtake/are overtaken.

Get a thin flat plastic fresnel lens and place/self-suction it on the rear window, saves running over that child as you back down the driveway..

Install a second internal rear mirror so you now have two internals, set these so the fields slightly overlap at the almost-meeting inner edges and can watch far more than the single wide mirror per the above Blog.

As mentioned by earlier Posters, the mirror as mentioned as "New" by the Blog, has been available in New Zealand for well over 40 years, and we did not invent them, our supplies coming from UK at that time.

Kind Regards....

I have used a "Wink" wide-angle mirrors since the late '60s. I have 3, 4 & 5 panel versions. They use a requisite number of individual mirrors mounted at increasingly acute angles which provide the panorama rear view. They do not have an optical distortion, although, there is a small issue with the height at the transition between adjacent panels. The only Issue I've had with them is that they can diminish upward vision in some applications, depending on the windshield height and the height of the driver. They are still available for $17 - $25 (depending on the size) from shop.com, shoppingwallet.com and, of course, the ever dependable J C Whitney, among others.

Stay tuned for the next article, it's sure to be a show-stopper.

It's titled; "Incandescent bulbs illuminate roads at night"

I can't wait.

cr3

Of course if the driver had a set of eyes like the late Marty Feldman such a fancy set of rear vision apparatus would not be needed.

Kind Regards....

The link did not work for me, am I alone?

The original link is working OK for me right now.

http://www.ohgizmo.com/2008/01/03/extra-wide-rear-view-mirror-eliminates-blind-spots/

Have another try, folks.

Kind Regards....

That link works just fine, thanks.