I guess I've driven so many miles with just mirrors for right-side vision that I don't think about it. The bank courier pickups that I drove for 5 years had windowless shells, small 'west coast' style flat mirrors, and big fish-eye wide angle spots. You used the spot mirror to check for the presence of obstacles, then located whatever you found in the flat mirror to judge distance. I made the transition to the distorted 'objects are closer' type mirrors pretty easily, tho' I've still added the stick-on fish-eyes to every RV I've bought. I hate having _any_ blind spots when on a 4-lane or backing.
I agree that the wide-angle Fresnel lenses that stick on the back window are good for judging when to pull back in, but I've only used them in conjunction with the wide-angle right side mirror. Putting one in the lower right corner of the back window is best for this purpose.
I guess you could install and aim a back-up camera to cover the right rear area, as a high-tech alternative.
Jim, "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison ('Loafer's Glory'); '07 Forester 2.5 ( the 'HANDBSKT'); '95 Toyota SR5 V-6 4x4 pickup, ARB locker, Bilsteins, Warn hubs & M8000, etc;
'94 968, M030 swaybars ('DOPPLER')
The Sprinter passenger side mirrors are the same as the driver side. There is no wording about objects being closer than they appear. One other great feature of the convex mirror is you can line up your wheels tight to a curb and be able to see it. The convex mirrors are large enough to be actually useful as say compared to those little round stick ons.
To me it is a simple set of rules. If you see a vehicle in your convex mirror and not the regular mirror they are too close and in your blind spot. If you see them in your regular mirror you are well ahead of them. My Nissan Titan pickup has similar dual mirrors so I have gotten use to the simple rules. It did initially take a bit of time to coordinate what you were looking for in the mirrors but is now second nature. Now I have more trouble with driving my wife's car with just the one mirror.
Davydd
2005 Pleasure-Way Plateau Sprinter B Camper Van
Davydd is the Welsh spelling for David with an English twist using a v instead of an f. See Our Pleasure-Way and my pork tenderloin sandwiches
Visited states in an RV
I like the distorted mirror on the right side. I'm not too interested in the details, all I want to know is if the right side is clear for the lane change or if I'm close to something. An inch is as good as a mile. It really doesn't matter as long as you're used to what you have. You can have a regular mirror on the right side as big as a dinner plate that will let you hit a small car or motorcycle that's not in just the right spot. The wide angle approach works better for me. A small bubble mirror isn't large enough. I have to look too hard and long at it trying to discern any other traffic. The huge "Objects are Closer" mirror allows an instant lane check for swapping lanes in heavy traffic. It's safer.
Offline
