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Revision as of 08:29, 21 March 2005 by 128.61.70.107 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Rear view mirrors allow the driver of an Automobile to see behind him or her. Specifically they allow the driver to see behind the car they are driving at pedestrians or any traffic that they might need to pay attention to. Rear view mirros should not be confused with the infamous and sometimes unscrupulous side view mirrors found on the right and left hand sides of most modern vehicles. Though these mirrors do face backwards, they are meant to show the driver the traffic to the right and left hand sides of the automobile. While it should be noted that right and left hand side mirrors usually carry the warning "Objects may appear closer than they actually are," the rear view mirror does not carry this warning, even though it also has the same convex shape that the side view mirrors have.
While the rear view mirror is usually afixed to the windshield, certain model cars have mounted the rearview mirror to the dashboard. While it can be useful to check your hair or makeup in the rear view mirror, such activities should be avoided. When adjusting the mirror it is a good idea to sit in your seat in the way that you will be sitting in the seat while driving. The mirror should be adjusted so that you can see out of the back window. For best viewing you should remove all ridiculous spoilers and avoid driving cars with tiny back windshields such as the lamborghini diablo.
Recently, rear view cameras have been built into many new model cars. This was partially in response to the rear view mirrors inability to show the road directly behind the car, due to the rear deck, or trunk of the car obscuring as much as 10 or 15 feet of road behind a car. Many unfortunate incidents involving small children and SUVs have been the result of such short comings of rear view mirrors. These camera systems are usually mounted to the bumper or lower parts of the car allowing for better rear visibility. In addition, rear facing radar arrays, and back up beepers assist responsible car owners from unfortunate happenings while in the reverse gear.
Dimming features
Due to the headlights found on all automobiles and how dark it can get at night on the planet earth it can be advantageous to have a dimmer setting on your rear view mirror. Some rear view mirrors have auto dimming features built in while others are adjustable so that a lower light level setting may be used. Because of this it is adviseable to set the darker setting to be aimed lower than the lighter setting. This is mostly because at night when you readjust the mirror to use the darker setting the lighter angles will be pointed to the lower contrast roof of the vehicle instead of the higher contrast areas such as the backs of the seats.