(Photo from Ford; February 4, 2005)
This photograph, released by Ford today, shows yet another situation where setting the exterior mirrors “wide” would affect safety.
There is a simple, sensible rule about vehicle windows that are unthinking people often choose to sneer at, and that is: “Keep all windows clean and clear.”
Putting stickers on any window in a vehicle in a position where they can interfere with a driver’s view, either when looking directly through the window or the interior mirror, is thoughtless. It is in the same category as dangling anything from the interior mirror.
There is no good excuse for doing these things and good safety reasons not to do them.
We will ask a question to counter the inevitable criticism our opinion will attract. We wonder (for example): How many motorcyclists have died worldwide because a sticker or something hanging from an interior mirror momentarily veiled the rider’s presence when another driver briefly glanced for a view? (“A-pillars” are, of course, also very dangerous in this respect.) — If anyone even remotely thinks the answer might be “none,, ” sadly, you are very much mistaken.
The latest trend of setting exterior mirrors to give a “wide” view is seriously misguided for at least eight reasons, even though even the Society of Automotive Engineers misguidedly subscribes to it. To view the DSA page on the only correct and safe way to set exterior mirrors, click here.