Jun 5 2007
Nearly every minute of every day, there is an accident on the road as a direct result of defective standard equipment side view mirrors, that harbor a blind spot that prohibits safe lane changes. One hundred sixty-thousand people per year, many of them young and inexperienced drivers, are injured as a direct result of blind spot related accidents. And yet, the problem of these accidents can be easily solved by making just one small modification to your car: the application of an inexpensive adhesive "blind spot mirror."
"In fast moving traffic, drivers cannot merge onto a freeway or change lanes safely with standard equipment side view mirrors," states the Automobile Safety Foundation, which is taking aim at this driving safety crisis by launching the "Safe Mirrors Now!" public awareness campaign in support of side view mirror attachments designed to reveal the "blind spot."
Now after several years of research, ASF is releasing the "Maxi View Mirror" attachment for sale on their web page, www.carsafe.org. Though there are blind spot convex mirrors available at most auto parts stores, the convex design is impaired by distortion of depth of field, creating a distancing problem. Maxi View Mirror known as, "the world's best blind spot mirror system" or "world's safest mirrors," greatly improves on this problem, and is the top of the line in aftermarket mirrors. ASF maintains that this is the one most important auto safety investment drivers can make.
As it is, standard side view mirrors, which conceal nearby approaching vehicles in a blind area and restrict driver's view while changing lanes, are implicated in more than 413,000 (more than half) of the country's 826,000 lane change accidents such as side swipes, according to The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The European Union has passed regulations to address this crisis in Europe and ASF urges U.S. Congress to do the same.
"All drivers need safe mirrors attachments. Don't drive without them," concludes ASF.