[Old Goat 67]

Anyone hear about this yet?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57...no-blind-spot/

[Formulabruce]

way cool, my wife needs 3 on the drivers side, I am IN!

[GT182]

From the article....

"One wonders, though, if his mirror proves to be effective, why the U.S. wouldn't change its regulations to accommodate it."

Because the BOS says so. The Bureau of Stupidity!

[Stuart]

Most people don't adjust their rear view mirrors properly, there shouldn't be a blind spot. If you can see the side of your car in the mirror it's not adjusted right.

I'm trying to figure out why there's a building in the reflection in one of the mirrors and not in the other.

[LeighP]

I always like to have just the slightest piece of the side of the car visible in the side mirrors, as a reference for when I'm backing the car.
I've yet to have a problem with blind spots, yet I do look over either shoulder when changing lanes...so maybe that explains why I don't have an issue.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Originally Posted by LeighP

I do look over either shoulder when changing lanes...so maybe that explains why I don't have an issue.

Ditto.

[BlueGTO]

It looks like the distance to what is behind you is really off ...like on the passenger side mirror "objects may be closer than they appear" I see no problems with that on the drivers side....:/

[PonchoV8]

I always know what's in my blind spot because I keep track of what's around me all the time.

[Alf ista]

Thats interesting. Most mirrors over here have the outside of the mirror slightly turned to cover the blind spot. There is a little dotted line dividing it. Works really well. Must be a difference in European laws that allow it.
Still though that patented mirror does show a lot more.

[Steve Barcak]

Originally Posted by Stuart

Most people don't adjust their rear view mirrors properly, there shouldn't be a blind spot. If you can see the side of your car in the mirror it's not adjusted right.

I'm trying to figure out why there's a building in the reflection in one of the mirrors and not in the other.

Stuart has a very good point here.

[Steve Barcak]

There have been aftermarket curved mirrors available for decades. Not sure why his is special, esp if it only applies to the left side.
On 2 of my Pontiacs, I have zero blind spots. do not even need to turn my head to merge onto a fwy believe it or not. Have no less than 8 mirrors for 360 viewing. It takes some time/training to get used to for sure but, extremely effective. No one sneaks up on me without me knowing it. Have done this for close to 20 years now on 4 Pontiacs.
Have done testing in the past having people walk around my car, at different distances, to make sure they al work correctly.
After driving with them though, I am somewhat uncomfortable driving other cars as I find myself always looking around to places I can normally see in my other cars.

It is a very effective way to keep aware of what is around you without having to turn your head.

[lust4speed]

...The adorable thing about his algorithm's precision is objects in his mirror are not substantially smaller than they appear...

Glad they told me. I was erroneously seeing the silver car being way smaller in his new mirror than the regular.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Steve Barcak

There have been aftermarket curved mirrors available for decades.

Agree. And OE.

We build cars for all kinds of different regions (US, Europe, China, Australia) and it seems they all have some different style mirror to accomodate a unique regulation for their country. Flat glass, convex, aspheric, split panes, etc.

By the time you proliferate all those styles into all of the available exterior colors - there's a lot of mirrors laying around in the assembly plant.

K

[Mister Pontiac]

Originally Posted by Stuart

I'm trying to figure out why there's a building in the reflection in one of the mirrors and not in the other.

Actually, the building is there, it's just that with the standard mirror, you can only see what appears to be the parking garage level, and the tall part of the building would be out of view to the outside edge. The standard mirror only shows a very small portion of what's behind you, which equates to the space between the persons middle and ring fingers who is holding the new mirror. It just takes a little bit closer look.

My problem lies in the 'information' overload portion of this new mirror. It's wonderful that it shows so much, but that's also its downfall... perspective is lost. It's the same reason we all look in our convex mirrors on the right side of our cars, and even if we see something there, we don't know how close it really is without turning our heads. In the picture, notice how much smaller the silver Honda appears in the new mirror vs. the original mirror? It's very difficult to judge distance in these instances, and it's why we have that disclaimer on our right side convex mirrors now... "Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear."

You simply must look over your shoulder to get a proper perspective of where the car actually is when viewed thru a convex mirror.

Standard or Convex, I will always turn my head to look.