Drivers Ed in the '70s claimed a huge amount of accidents were the result of someone driving in your (surprisingly large) blind spot. Funky mirrors help reduce this considerably.
Now if we could just get to work on those spiders that drop down from your sunscreen, sending you over the embankment to your doom.
I think it should be a matter of driver choice.
I could see the pros and cons of each mirror design
But the “closer than they appear” variety have always vexed me, and I’m not about to cave and/or get the flat version.
YMMV, of course.
Well, what if the driver relied on the passenger airbag warning light to tell them how close other cars were? And then, when that failed to tell them accurate information, got into a crash? Would they have a case there?
The answer is “of course not, because the passenger airbag warning light isn’t a device for telling how close other cars are, and everyone knows that, and so a driver who’s relying on it for that is an idiot who is at fault”.
Which is the same as the answer for the driver who relies on the mirror to tell him the same information, when it’s clearly marked to not be used for that information.
The whole discussion is moot anyway. The AI piloting your next car will have full 360-degree awareness.
For the record, rearview mirror requirements in the US are summarized here. Driver’s side mirror must be a flat mirror, passenger side can be either flat or convex. A passenger side mirror is not always required (my first car did not have a passenger side mirror, it was an option when the car was purchased and my dad was cheap).
FMVSS No. 111, Rearview Mirrors establishes requirements for the use, field of view, and mounting of motor vehicle rearview mirrors for rear visibility. This standard was enacted in 1976 and applies to passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, school buses and motorcycles. The purpose of this standard is to reduce the number of deaths and injuries that occur when the driver of a motor vehicle does not have a clear and reasonably unobstructed view to the rear. With respect to passenger cars, the standard requires that manufacturers mount flat (also referred to as “plane” or “unit magnification”) mirrors both inside the vehicle and outside the vehicle on the driver’s side. The inside mirror must, except as specified below, have a field of view at least 20 degrees wide and a sufficient vertical angle to provide a view of a level road surface extending to the horizon beginning not more than 200 feet (61 m) behind the vehicle. In cases where the interior mirror does not meet the specified field of view requirements, a plane or convex exterior mirror must be mounted on the passenger’s side of the car. While a specific field of view is not indicated for the passenger-side rearview mirror, the driver’s side rearview mirror is required to be a plane mirror that provides “the driver a view of a level road surface extending to the horizon from a line, perpendicular to a longitudinal plane tangent to the driver’s side of the vehicle at the widest point, extending 2.4 m (7.9 ft) out from the tangent plane 10.7 m (35.1 ft) behind the driver’s eyes, with the seat in the rearmost position.”