Factory-installed vehicle side mirrors don’t take into account much of the extra range of vision drivers require while towing large objects such as boats or campers. An easy fix for this safety concern is to replace the original mirrors with those specifically designed for towing. If you’re towing anything, especially if on a regular basis, it’s definitely worth your peace of mind to invest in a good pair of indispensible towing mirrors. But what’s so special about them? Are there specific mirrors for specific towing needs?
Towing mirrors are special because of the way the glass is shaped. According to Wikipedia, in a flat, everyday glass mirror, also known as a plane mirror, objects appear at their true size—an exact replica of the subject being reflected. Towing mirrors, on the other hand, are convex in shape, resulting in a wider field of view. Can’t remember those terms from high school algebra class? Here’s your long-awaited chance to use math in the real world, starting with a simple orange sliced in two.
Imagine half of an orange lying flat on the table so all you see is its skin. This half is convex in shape, like an eyeball in its socket. Now imagine the orange’s skin is covered in mirror glass; the reflective surface bulges toward the light source. Contradictorily, the orange half would be considered concave—receding from the light source—if flipped over, as if you were walking into the entrance of a cave.
For non-commercial drivers towing items such as boats and trailers, even another car, towing mirrors are handy must-haves for the exact same reason why concave and plane mirrors simply do not work for towing: the dreaded blind spot. Nothing is more important than safety or accident prevention; the correct towing mirror ensures a clear line of sight when passing another vehicle or changing lanes. Big rigs especially utilize towing mirrors because without them, they wouldn’t be able to make wide turns and they’d most likely sideswipe into other vehicles on the road. That sign on the back of a truck reading “If You Can’t See My Mirrors, I Can’t See You” is really very true; you’re in the driver’s blind spot and you might get run off the road.
A February 2006 Consumer Reports article adds that the height of an SUV or pickup truck “creates large blind zones below the rear window and the hood.” Also, “according to Kids and Cars, which works to improve child safety around cars, some 90 children die each year when drivers, sometimes parents, back over them while they are hidden” in a vehicle’s blind zone.
According to the US Department of Transportation’s NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), “If you are towing a trailer that is wider than your tow vehicle, you will need extended side-view mirrors to see rear-and side-approaching traffic.”
The NHTSA also reports more than 413,000 vehicle accidents are caused by blind spot-related mishaps. Improper lane change accidents such as side-swipes damage more than 826,000 vehicles and injure more than 160,000 people each and every year. You definitely don’t want to be involved in an accident resulting in higher insurance premiums on top of what it will cost to replace or repair your vehicle.
Aftermarket towing mirrors begin from a convex shape, but there are additional features making them even better; specific types of towing mirrors for specific towing jobs. Manual and electric telescopic towing mirrors are adjustable and extendable, and are available in a heated version to eliminate frost, and also in non-heated models. They fold either manually or electronically when you need to steer into tight spaces.
There are also towing mirrors with LED lights that synchronize with your turn signal, which often catches the eye of the driver behind you faster than your regular turn signal.
