Wing mirrors

thescouselander

What is it with so many people these days driving round with their wing mirrors folded in? I never used to see this but just yesterday I saw 3 different cars being driven like this while on a short trip to the shop. How can people drive like this?

teddysmum

They probably forgot to pull them out again, having had to fold them to avoid being damaged by passing cars, while parked on the roadside or by careless shoppers, at supermarkets.


I've had two damaged while parked outside my home (not on a busy road).

BeenThroughItAll

thescouselander wrote: »

What is it with so many people these days driving round with their wing mirrors folded in? I never used to see this but just yesterday I saw 3 different cars being driven like this while on a short trip to the shop. How can people drive like this?

Because they're idiots who wouldn't use them anyway.

BeenThroughItAll

teddysmum wrote: »

They probably forgot to pull them out again, having had to fold them to avoid being damaged by passing cars, while parked on the roadside or by careless shoppers, at supermarkets.


I've had two damaged while parked outside my home (not on a busy road).

If they've forgotten for long, that just shows they're not checking their mirrors often enough (if at all). There is no excuse for that.

I look in all three of my mirrors in a rotation about every fifteen seconds. Some people think it's excessive, but it's an old habit picked up from being sent to places where it's VERY important that you know what's going on around you.

mttylad

Possibly because they had them folded in when parked, jumped in the car to dash to the shops like you but forgot to open them.

The drivers side can be opened by winding the window down but the passenger side - well that needs you to stop, get out and change it (or reach right over).

Sometimes happens, I have done it before & turned up at work with the left one folded.

Cant say I see many like this - must have just been your day

owen_money

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

I look in all three of my mirrors in a rotation about every fifteen seconds. Some people think it's excessive, but it's an old habit picked up from being sent to places where it's VERY important that you know what's going on around you.

Ummmmmm an ex-M15 agent I think

owen_money

Just a thought, isn't it 'door mirrors' these days? I wonder which production car was the last to have the mirrors on the wings? Something mid-70's I guess. Hillman Avenger?

Ultrasonic

My first car (a Metro) didn't have a passenger side mirror (from new) - it was clearly viewed as an unnecessary luxury! I also manage not to crash it into anything, in part by means of the advanced procedure of looking over my left shoulder.

As above I'd hope people forgot to fold them out again (rather than the other option that springs to mind of saving a little bit of fuel by reducing aerodynamic drag).

thescouselander

mttylad wrote: »

Possibly because they had them folded in when parked, jumped in the car to dash to the shops like you but forgot to open them.

The drivers side can be opened by winding the window down but the passenger side - well that needs you to stop, get out and change it (or reach right over).

Sometimes happens, I have done it before & turned up at work with the left one folded.

Cant say I see many like this - must have just been your day

Yeah, I can understand that happening but if it happened to me I'd stop and put the mirror back to its proper position. In my view not having a working wing mirror is a safety hazard.

Captain_Flack.

Ultrasonic wrote: »

My first car (a Metro) didn't have a passenger side mirror (from new) - it was clearly viewed as an unnecessary luxury! I also manage not to crash it into anything, in part by means of the advanced procedure of looking over my left shoulder.

As above I'd hope people forgot to fold them out again (rather than the other option that springs to mind of saving a little bit of fuel by reducing aerodynamic drag).

And still not a legal requirement, if you have a centre rear view mirror.

facade

The OP probably met me then.

I always fold them in when parked, and if I have to drive along a lane or other road less than 20 feet wide, as I once had one broken by a micra driven like a humvee, about 10 feet from the kerb. (If you have never tried buying a simple piece of glass from vauxhall, be prepared for a shock: they are special glass, that costs £1,000,000 per ounce)

I tend not to use them when driving forwards anyway, a glance over the shoulder to supplement the interior mirror is better than relying on no-one being in the blind spot.


Now what does amaze me is how far people can drive in complete darkness with no lights on at all- how on earth do they read the rev counter?