# Purpose of Cars' Folding Side Mirrors **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983 "2015-09-29T22:08:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/21 "2015-09-30T00:00:28Z")
worth noting that pickup trucks also can have power folding mirrors, but I don’t know that any of them are automatic. it uses the same switch as the one to adjust the mirror position; if you pull the knob straight back the mirrors fold in. but in that case, the towing package mirrors stick out there like elephant ears so this function has obvious benefits. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/22 "2015-09-30T01:15:46Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Those things stick out far enough in any vehicle to often be a nuisance in parking lots and street parking and the first point of contact for anything that comes too close. I came out of the grocery store yesterday to find a gigantic Ford F-150 or F-250 with a humongous side mirror parked beside me, and I couldn’t load my car where it was parked because the stupid mirror was literally right in my face. I drive a gigantic F-150, and I always fold in the mirrors if I’m adjacent to another parking spot. Having driven a small car for years, I know how annoying those mirrors can be. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/23 "2015-09-30T01:23:09Z")
I cannot tell you how many times I have returned to my parking space only to find my mirrors folded back by some entitled person who required a bit more space when passing by my minivan. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/24 "2015-09-30T01:37:41Z")
> [@Hi\_Medlo](#): > > You wouldn’t ask that question if your wife had scraped a mirror of on the side of the garage door opening. I’ve never had the electrically-operated folding ones, but my car has ones that fold back when they are bumped by something (or someone in a tight parking space). They saved me a repair job when I pulled too close to a parking ramp pay station, with concrete bolsters alongside. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/25 "2015-09-30T01:53:49Z")
Folding mirrors are a safety feature. They’ve bumped drive up take out windows several times. Folding in instead of damaging something. yes, I drive a large E-150 van. ---
**Author:** ![McDoogins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@McDoogins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McDoogins)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/26 "2015-09-30T02:00:58Z")
Haha, my girlfriend doesn’t even have power locks for her car and it’s only a few years old. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/27 "2015-09-30T02:01:17Z")
I don’t have the automatic ones but I agree they would be kind of nice when taking the garbage can down my narrow driveway. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/28 "2015-09-30T02:01:38Z")
A decade or so ago, my boss was holding a meeting at a popular local restaurant, and picked a bad time for that: the place was packed. The only parking space I could find was half-taken by a careless driver in the next space over, but I had a very small car and could fit. I He was nose-in, I backed in, and I intentionally put my driver’s mirror overlapping his, so there was no way he could back out of that space without our mirrors colliding. I wrote down his plate # and make and model, then went into the restaurant, expecting to be paged when that driver complained I was parked “blocking him in”. I was only in there about an hour, and I guess he was in there for longer because that car was still there when I left. But yeah, I immediately knew that those powered folding mirrors were for. Although in my opinion the feature isn’t that they fold, but that they’ll put themselves back where they were. Getting your mirrors back where you are used to them being after someone else adjusts them is enough of a pain that I probably wouldn’t fold in my mirrors even if I thought I should. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/29 "2015-09-30T02:49:08Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > On the tight streets in the cities of New England, lots of people parallel park and leave just barely enough room for two lanes of traffic on the road. I’ve seen more than a few mirrors banged by passing cars. With non-automatic folding back or forth, usually the mirrors aren’t harmed and can be popped into place, but a good whack will still pulverize a mirror. Some people also, as a matter of habit, manually fold their mirrors whenever they parallel park. I never bother myself, but if I had to pay to repair or replace a few mirrors I might pick up the habit myself. > > IMO an automatic folding mirror is mostly, but not entirely, pointless frippery. I live in New England and saw a driver break a car side mirror trying to drive down a tight street . The person just kept on driving , I called the police and reported the person but I don’t think the police did anything about it. Someone backed into my car that was parallel parked and the woman laughed as she drove off. I had a witness and he got the bitch plate # , I reported it to the cops and they didn’t want to go to the woman’s house at first. I did go after the bitch and her insurance paid to fix my car . And I got the last laugh ! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/30 "2015-09-30T02:53:43Z")
I can personally vouch for having my driver’s side mirror knocked 30 feet after some asshole hit it. I was parked right up against the curb and some fucker still hit it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/31 "2015-09-30T03:20:42Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I drive a gigantic F-150, and I always fold in the mirrors if I’m adjacent to another parking spot. Having driven a small car for years, I know how annoying those mirrors can be. Sadly, not everyone is as considerate as you. The most annoying thing was that I was towards the far side of the parking lot and the entire outer section of parking lot was completely empty, so the yahoo with the F-150 could have parked one spot over. But I understand why he didn’t – the store entrance would then have been three steps further away! Same reason he didn’t fold back the mirror – the physical and intellectual effort would have been exhausting! 😃 > [@SpyOne](#): > > Getting your mirrors back where you are used to them being after someone else adjusts them is enough of a pain that I probably wouldn’t fold in my mirrors even if I thought I should. ?? In my car if you have to reset the mirrors the normal position is a click-stop that you can’t miss. Once you get it close to center the mirror assembly drops down about an eighth of an inch into a secure position that can only be dislodged with a fair amount of force. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/32 "2015-09-30T03:45:00Z")
Is there a car sold in the U.S. today that doesn’t have manually foldable mirrors? I have a friend who always folds his to get in and out of his garage easier. Also, on every car I’ve had with them, the mirror holds its setting when folded back out. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/33 "2015-09-30T06:01:59Z")
I never even knew those mirrors folded back until a few years ago, when there was a commercial on TV that showed a driver folding his mirrors in, to get his car into a horribly cluttered garage. I’ve never seen the ones yet that OP describes, that fold in by themselves when you shut down. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/34 "2015-09-30T07:52:15Z")
I had a 1987 model car with mirrors which would fold both forward and backward with a very slight pressure. A passing car or pedestrian would cause it to fold before it would sustain damage. I suspect it could be damaged if someone hit it along a vertical axis. Not something I worried about. Why is this now a mechanical linkage automatically engaged for you? How BOTH anal AND lazy do you need to be to need this done for you? ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/35 "2015-09-30T09:35:05Z")
Automobile side mirrors were invented by Mercedes-Benz but the foldable type was introduced by Japanese car manufacturers back in 1983 when the Transportation ministry updated the automobile safety rules. It stated that door side mirrors had to be “foldable, be detachable, or able to rotate”. The reason for this was for pedestrian safety to reduce the chances of spearing. A secondary and more minor reason for the foldable mirrors was to make it easier to navigate the many narrow roads of Japan. There’s been a number of times I and the other driver had to fold our side mirrors in order to pass each other on mountain roads. However, I know someone who refuses to fold their mirrors in parking spaces. They keep them out to increase the barrier between them and other cars so they won’t get scratched. ---
**Author:** ![JessMagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@JessMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessMagic)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/36 "2015-09-30T10:53:07Z")
They’re very common here in South Korea. Most commonly they’re motorised with a wee button next to the “windows up/down” buttons, but you also get ones that you can manual fold in/out - my current rental car has the latter. Very useful in the tight side streets in towns like mine, where there’s a lot of squeezing past other cars / obstacles and a widespread disregard for parking regulations. Related to this (kind of), many, maybe even most, Koreans display their mobile phone numbers in their car windscreen so if they’re parked in the way you can call them up and they’ll come out of the shop / restaurant / eatery / bar / brothel and move their car for you. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/37 "2015-09-30T11:22:56Z")
If so inclined I suppose they might help you get that last 1/2 mph out of your top end. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/38 "2015-09-30T11:25:10Z")
> [@Ornery\_Bob](#): > > It’s to protect the mirrors while the car is parked and while going through automated car washes. > > How much you consider that a benefit is up to you. This. They folded mine in yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/39 "2015-09-30T11:34:39Z")
Try driving over the Albert Bridge in London and you’ll know what automatic folding mirrors are for. If you can’t get your car through the 6’6" space between the bollards at the entrances, you ain’t getting on the bridge. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983/40 "2015-09-30T11:41:16Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > You’d know if you had a narrow garage. A buddy of mine bought a monster SUV years ago without thinking his garage. His two car garage had an upright he had to get by, impossible without folding in his mirror. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purpose-of-cars-folding-side-mirrors/732983.md?page=3)