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A rear-view mirror is a functional type of mirror found in automobiles, designed to allow the driver to see the area behind the vehicle through the back window.
Rear-view mirrors are sometimes confused with side-view mirrors, a different type of mirror found on the left- and right-hand sides of most modern vehicles. Though these mirrors do face backwards, they are meant to show the driver the traffic to the left- and right-hand sides of the automobile. While side view mirrors usually carry the warning "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear," the rear-view mirror does not carry this warning, even though it also has the same convex shape and the same potential danger that side view mirrors have.
Typically, the rear-view mirror is affixed to the top of the windshield on a swivel mount allowing it to be freely rotated. Certain car models have the rearview mirror mounted to the dashboard. When adjusting the mirror, it's advised to sit in the driver's seat in the same manner that you will be sitting while driving. Their utility may be diminished in cars with large spoilers or tiny back windshields such as the Lamborghini Diablo.
History
Although many people imagine the rear-view mirror was designed for safety, in fact its origins are much more exciting. The earliest known semblence of a rear-view mirror appeared in Ray Harroun's Marmon racecar at the inaugural Indianapolis 500 race in 1911. According to Al Binder of Ward's Auto World:
- As per the custom of the day, all cars except Harroun's carried riding mechanics who, among other things, helped the driver keep track of other vehicles during the race. Unable to find a mechanic to ride with him, Harroun installed a mirror on his car so he could view what was happening behind him and be alert to any cars overtaking him. Automotive historians credit this as the first use of a rear view mirror on an automobile.
The invention seems to have worked — Harroun won the race, netting a $14,250 prize equivalent to about $270,000 in 2003 dollars.
Despite Harroun's experiments with mirrors, it is Elmer Berger who is credited with inventing rear-view mirrors as we know them today.
Augmentations and alternatives
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 obscuring as much as 10 or 15 feet of road behind the car. For example, as many as 50 times a year, small children are killed by SUVs because the driver cannot see them in their 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 help avoid accidents while reversing.
Because other vehicles' headlights may be too bright, poorly aimed, or left on the high beam setting at inappropriate times, 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 advisable 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.
In art
In modern art, particularly music and poetry, the rear-view mirror has become a common metaphor for reflecting upon the past, whether upon one's own memories or a time even more distant. For example, Jane Sequoya's "Scene Through the Rear-View Mirror" expresses a woman's regret for a lost love partly by comparison with the lost Native American people of the prairies .
In popular music, artists ranging from Alicia Keys to Meat Loaf to the Starland Vocal Band have written songs with "Rear View Mirror" in the title. The metaphor is particularly prominent in country music, where it's featured in hits such as Jo Dee Messina's "Bye Bye", Chely Wright's "Shut Up and Drive", Doug Supernaw's "She Never Looks Back", and Julie Robert's "Break Down Here".