Side-view mirror

The side mirror is equipped for manual or remote vertical and horizontal adjustment so as to provide adequate coverage to drivers of differing height and seated position.

The mirror glass may also be electrically heated and may include electrochromic dimming to reduce glare to the driver from the headlamps of following vehicles.

However, unit magnification limits the field of view that can be provided by a mirror of size compatible with the vehicle body.

Since such objects seem farther away than they actually are, a driver might make a maneuver such as a lane change assuming an adjacent vehicle is a safe distance behind, when in fact it is quite a bit closer.

ECE Regulation 46 requires that side mirrors be mounted such that they swing away when struck by a test cylinder meant to represent a pedestrian.

[3] The European ECE Regulation 46 used throughout most of the world permits planar, convex, and/or aspheric mirrors on either side of the vehicle.

[11] Problems with digital mirrors include difficulties relating to the inherent lack of binocular vision (such as impaired depth perception, and the requirement for the viewer to readjust focus to the distance of the mirror surface instead of merely the distance to the object), as well as from problems related to both the reduced dynamic range and the sensitivity of a camera in low light conditions.