Hi,
riding next to more parked cars lately, I noticed how i subconsciously feel safer if I see folded side-view mirrors. This might not be true for all cars and all situations, but in my head a car with folded mirrors is always locked with nobody inside, so there is zero chance for the door to pop open and me plowing into it.
Turning this around: wouldn’t it be awesome if this was turned into a mandatory feature for all cars so we could always be a little more alert when we see propped out side-view mirrors.
And yes: Obviously you should ride with enough distance to all cars anyway, but in real life that’s not always possible and the extra warning sign would be nice.
This would be great. And I love my folding mirrors. But I wonder what proportion of cars have this. I think it is a recent premium car feature, so I do not think it is widespread. And I wonder how much cost it would add to inexpensive cars?
Yeah, It would sure take some time for all cars to have it. But it could be made mandatory for new ones and over time become the norm.
I (sitting in Europe) sometimes drive a new-ish but fairly entry-level Opel car and it has them, so was assuming almost all new cars would nowadays.
But what do I know about cars…
I tried to Google to see what the prevalence is, but I did not get any good hits. I agree that this would be super nice when riding alongside parked cars. Our newish Hyundai has folding mirrors. I know it is mostly standard on new BMWs and Porsches. But, I don’t think we have it on our Buick, Chevrolet, and Ford cars in the household.
Another benefit… I got clipped by a minivan when out riding last summer. The mirror hit my left arm. There was a load “thwack!”, the mirror folded, I felt the hit, but didn’t go down. I was startled and pissed, but uninjured. I was very grateful for folding mirrors after that .
Make it mandatory for our convenience. The most road cyclingish thing ever proposed 😂
I agree with you! Isn’t the real problem that the driver doesn’t see the cyclist. Why not run a forward bright blinky light and wear a hi-viz jersey or vest if you are going to ride in that high density car area. The onus is on the cyclist to ride defensively.
Honestly if motorists and cyclists (and scooterists, etc.) would stop playing on their phones (and watches, etc.), then a lot of this the dj could just fix in the mix. Yes, I know that will probably never happen, so we may be stuck until autonomous vehicles take hold, at which point I don’t even think sideview mirrors would be needed at all.
Make it mandatory for our convenience. The most road cyclingish thing ever proposed 😂
I agree with you! Isn’t the real problem that the driver doesn’t see the cyclist. Why not run a forward bright blinky light and wear a hi-viz jersey or vest if you are going to ride in that high density car area. The onus is on the cyclist to ride defensively.Please could you explain how a “bright blinking light and hi-viz” is going to help you when someone opens a door on you ‘after the last moment’?
I suggest the “real problem is that the driver doesn’t” look before opening the door. No looky; hi-viz and light no effecty.
As for ‘mandatory folding door mirrors on locking’ this is pie in the sky (though I see the rationale).
Just give parked cars a metre, and recognise the danger of (a) door opening or (b) sudden pull out.
Another benefit… I got clipped by a minivan when out riding last summer. The mirror hit my left arm. There was a load “thwack!”, the mirror folded, I felt the hit, but didn’t go down. I was startled and pissed, but uninjured. I was very grateful for folding mirrors after that .OP is talking about a different feature. All cars are required to have mirrors that fold in on impact. OP is talking about mirrors that automatically fold in when a car is parked and locked.
I thought of another nice feature… My car has a door exit alert that actually intercedes and won’t let you open the door when it sees approaching traffic.
Folding mirrors are just another thing that can break.
That was my dad’s argument against power windows 30 years ago.
Now almost all cars have power windows - even a lot of work trucks - and they’re not considered to be much of a maintenance/repair risk. I think power mirror adjustment is also near-ubiquitous.
Could be useful now that monster size single occupant daily drivers are common, and many parking spaces were drawn 30 years ago before a Silverado 2500 HD (or Cybertruck) was a grocery run car. I’d prefer my mirrors fold themselves in vs. having some 2500 HD driver do it for me as they park 6 inches from my passenger side. I’m too lazy to walk around to the other side every time I park my car, though.
Another benefit… I got clipped by a minivan when out riding last summer. The mirror hit my left arm. There was a load “thwack!”, the mirror folded, I felt the hit, but didn’t go down. I was startled and pissed, but uninjured. I was very grateful for folding mirrors after that .OP is talking about a different feature. All cars are required to have mirrors that fold in on impact. OP is talking about mirrors that automatically fold in when a car is parked and locked.
Ah! Ok. I’ve never thought of mirrors on parked cars to be a hazard to me while I’m out riding, so that seems a bit of an unnecessary luxury feature IMO.
Folding mirrors are just another thing that can break.
That was my dad’s argument against power windows 30 years ago.
Now almost all cars have power windows - even a lot of work trucks - and they’re not considered to be much of a maintenance/repair risk. I think power mirror adjustment is also near-ubiquitous.
Could be useful now that monster size single occupant daily drivers are common, and many parking spaces were drawn 30 years ago before a Silverado 2500 HD (or Cybertruck) was a grocery run car. I’d prefer my mirrors fold themselves in vs. having some 2500 HD driver do it for me as they park 6 inches from my passenger side. I’m too lazy to walk around to the other side every time I park my car, though.
The monstrous vehicles over here in the USA give me the desire for folding mirrors. So many trucks and SUVs are laughably big and even parked right up to the curb they take up a ton of room on top of the super sized side mirrors.
Ah! Ok. I’ve never thought of mirrors on parked cars to be a hazard to me while I’m out riding, so that seems a bit of an unnecessary luxury feature IMO.It’s the secondary benefit. When you are riding along a row of parallel parked cars, it can be a little unnerving trying to anticipate somebody opening a door and jambing you. But, if you see mirrors folded, you know the doors are locked and nobody can open them.
If your goal is safety around getting doored, then a cheaper alternatives is require rear lights to be illuminated when the car is parked and occupied. Simple software change.
