I’ve driven panel vans and box trucks up to 20 feet. I agree with @Irishman and don’t understand why you think it’s insane. You can’t see both sides at once, of course, but you can do it, and I have.
Rearview mirror is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine, so you’re almost completely dependent on side mirrors to see behind you. And you think it’s safer to point those mirrors wide so that you can only see directly behind you by shifting your body significantly left or right to get an angle on the mirror than it is to point them back along the sides of the vehicle and rely on convex bubble mirrors to cover the blind spot?
If you think that’s reasonable, then there’s no point in continuing this conversation.
When I wrote camera, I was referring to the side view camera that feeds the all around view. I didn’t mean a rear view camera feeding a display instead of the mirror view.
IMHO that is just another solution in search of a problem.
*bolding mine
When exactly was this suggested? Even a less than careful reading would not find this in the referenced post
If you aimed your mirrors out so little that you can see down the side of your vehicle by moving your head a couple inches, then either (1) they aren’t out far enough to see your blind spot, or (2) you can see your blind spot without aiming your mirrors wide just by moving your head a couple inches in the other direction, so why not just do that instead?
Also, I tried it. You’ve got to move your head a foot or more to the side. If you don’t think that’s significant, okay, well, fine then.
I’ve never had to move my head an entire foot to do that in any panel vans, but if it doesn’t work for you, ok then.
The new Ford Bronco’s side mirrors are mounted to the A pillar, not the doors, as the doors can be removed by the driver and the mirrors remain. Unlike the Jeep, whose mirrors are mounted to the doors.
No, on a panel van having convex mirrors is a good solution. Which I said. On a passenger car, one can get mirror attachments, but they are small and eat up the main mirror space. It is perfectly viable to use mirrors kicked out a smidgen and still back up using the side mirrors. But panel vans and cargo trucks are better suited with the arrangement you describe.
Also, I don’t shift my body left and right, but forward.
Interesting. When I shift my head forward, the view in the side mirrors moves out away from the side of the vehicle, not back in towards it. This whole conversation makes more sense if optics work differently in your car.
Now you’ve got me scratching my head. I guess I am shifting to the side as well.
For me, in a car, since I have a good center mirror, I’d rather have my side mirrors set so I see what is in the lane beside me to maintain better awareness and reduce blind spot, so I have to do less craning my neck around while driving.
In a vehicle with a blocked center mirror and no camera, having the mirrors optimized for backing and parking makes sense.
Our new-ish Cadillac has a combo rear-view mirror–can be traditional silvered or camera/screen. There definitely is the near-vision problem, but it allows the designers to do whatever they want with the rear windscreen and still have decent rear-view. A traditional mirror on a Lyriq doesn’t see much.