Comments on: Convex mirrors on cars

By: mick

mick — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:06:05 +0000

this is for Dirk, somewhere up in the forum. Der! Did you think a car dealer can tell you about every thing before your holliness takes it out on a drive? And a message for all of you out there whinging about mirrors and stuff! A good driver doesn’t even need a side view mirror on the near side and pretty much not even the off side one if you know how to use your main one and look over your shoulder

By: Bob Taylor

Bob Taylor — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:09:40 +0000

Convex side mirrors are nightmare when backing a large boat you need to know the correst distance.Also dangerour at 100k in heavy traffic when its dark and raining taking your eyes off the road to look over shoulder is not the safest thing to do.

By: Frank Aquino

Frank Aquino — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:13:17 +0000

Convex side mirriors are the most loopy idea to come out of the motoring industry, ever. They serve no purpose whatsoever, unless you call increasing hazards a purpose. What? But…but…they tell you if there’s a car behind and to the side of you, don’t they? Well for heaven’s sake – there’s ALWAYS a car behind and to the side of you! What you need to know is how close it is! The convex mirror tells you the other car is way back there, way out of range, whereas in reality its right on your bumper. I defy anyone to accurately estimate distances with a convex mirror. It simply cannot be done, because our brains haven’t evolved that way.
What an idiotic idea! What’s next? Spherical lens windscreens for a fish-eye view of the road ahead?

By: Rick Forbes

Rick Forbes — Sat, 15 May 2010 08:21:43 +0000

New Ford Fiesta WS. Bloody ridiculous convex mirror. In America Ford have an inset in the drivers mirror which shows the true distance. Now that makes sense. Anyone found a magnifying type plastic layer that will easily attach to all or a portion of the drivers mirror and correct this dangerous situation. That may be an easy fix?

By: side view car mirrors

side view car mirrors — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 09:30:29 +0000

Convex mirror are really helpful to get refelction from larger distance. But, while driving heavy vehicles it is necessary to adjust truck convex mirror to avoid blind spot.

By: Bruce Willan

Bruce Willan — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:47:34 +0000

I done it, I have put unleaded petrol into my diesel Range Rover. It is a bad thing for sure and I did not think it could possible happen to me. I have done 50000 ks in last 8 months so I am refuelling regularly, got distracted after a long day and picked up the wrong nossel (the one beside the diesel). Vehicle under repair not sure what damage has been done , vehicle was not driven but ignition turned on. Thought I was the only special one but two other vehicles in on the same day same problem. With the growing number of diesel arriving on our roads it is only going to get worse.

By: Graham

Graham — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:12:00 +0000

I cannot believe the number of drivers who do NOT do the “headcheck” required by LAW.
I am approaching 70 and have no trouble obeying this LAW. When I find I am unable to do the headcheck I will consider that I am no longer fit to hold a licence and hand it in.
I am also amazed by the number of people who rely on their mirrors to judge distances. This is folly in the extreme.
Rear view mirrors are there so that drivers can have an idea of what is happening around them. In this regard I find the mildly convex mirrors far preferable to the old fashioned flat mirrors which left most of “what was around you” in a blind spot.

By: Alison

Alison — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:48:56 +0000

Just bought a “new” car with convex mirrors & find they give an unreal distance perspective. After only driving for 2 days with these I am considering changing them to regular mirrors. I am doing driver training with my 17yr old, (have done 60+ hours in the old car) who said that he couldn’t work out how far cars were from us. His comment is, “I will use the rear vision and turn my head to get better judgement, I don’t want to have an accident”.

By: Wayne (Tamworth)

Wayne (Tamworth) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:23:52 +0000

Regarding the comments re not taking your eyes off the road for anything- scanning, or moving your eyes, is a preferred safe driving method. This includes- both sides of the road well ahead; instruments (all of them!); mirrors; and looking as far ahead as possible. Of course, this can not be done safely if you are using your phone, eating or fighting with the kids in the back seat.
I would like to see positive work done to target the REAL causes of accidents- not just a catch cry (eg. speed kills) that circumvents the truth and is used to justify a new tax.
By the way- why are counrty drivers being slugged a new tax on our rego to fix the city ratrace when our own roads are in such a mess???

By: Phil Thompson

Phil Thompson — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:42:15 +0000

I cannot believe the amount of people on here that don’t look over their shoulder before changing lanes. This is not a new thing. I have held my licence for about 15 years now, and was taught this from day 1 – Mirror, Indicator, Shoulder (MIS). In those 15 years of driving I have never had an accident, or near miss from taking my eyes off the road for about a second to look over my shoulder. I have, however noticed many vehicles in my blindspot, thus avoiding an accident or cutting them off. Maybe this explains why I am cut off by so many people on the road. Have some situational awareness people!