REAR VISION MIRRORS

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 75, 21 December 1928, Page 18

REAR VISION MIRRORS

ADVANTAGES IN POSSESSING TWO Regarded in the early days of motoring as an amusing but by no means necessary “gadget,” the driving mirror lias now become, so far as New Zealand is concerned, a compulsory accessory on every motor-car. With the ever-growing popularity of closed bodywork, the centrally-placed mirror just above the windscreen is now the fashion, and the outside mirror, on the driver’s right, save when it is combined with a spot light, is on closed cars almost a thing of the past. Yet there is a distinct advantage in possessing au outside mirror on a saloon car. if only because when driving at night the majority’of motorists obscure the . rear window to avoid annoyance due to reflections from the head lamps, of vehicles behind. When the back window is covered by the blind, generally included as a standard fitting, the centrally placed mirror is useless. Even when the rear window is unobscured the central mirror has its limitations. Although in it one can observe the activities of traffic immediately behind, it is not easy to see in this reflector the precise position of a car that may have drawn over to its off-side to overtake. It is well worth while to tit an outside mirror to a closed car.

Some owners may hesitate to install a mirror outside for fear of damaging the coachwork represented by the pillar ahead of the forward door on the driver's side. However, very neat brackets are available that can be attached by a couple of wood or metal screws, these brackets being so designed that they will take the clamps of practically any mirror now offered to the motoring public. To wire an outside spotlight mirror neatly care is necessary, but the handy amateur will find that the work is not beyond his ability, and that there is no necessity to call in expert assistance. As traffic congestion increases, so does it

become more and more desirable that the driver shall have every possible facility for acquainting himself with the manoeuvres of vehicles behind, and two driving mirrors are unquestionably a help in this respect.