[KVNair]

Found an interesting accessory on a taxi in Singapore today. This RVM is to help prevent accidents caused by sudden opening of rear doors. It is stuck on the B pillar and juts out only a little more than the door window visor. Passengers in back seats can look at this mirror to spot any approaching vehicle or people before opening the doors. The idea is very simple, but I think it is useful. Attaching a picture of it.


I asked the taxi driver where I can buy them and he gave me a leaflet from the mirror’s manufacturer. I did not try calling the seller, but the taxi driver said that a pair of these mirrors costs around S$17 or so. Quite expensive!


Note to Moderators: I tried to locate a related thread about this accessory in the forum, but could not find it. So, I have created a new thread. Please delete this thread if the information already exists or move it to the correct section.

[Gannu_1]

How about taking a peek through the window before opening the door? Gives you an even wider perspective than that mirror.

Apologies but this looks like a pointless device IMO. This should be merged with an existing thread.

[saket77]

In total agreement with you Gannu! This is indeed a pointless device. If the passengers have the common sense, they will always look behind before opening any door. But as they say, common sense is not so common; I have ample doubts if a passenger having no sense will first look in the mirror to check traffic and then open the door! Its a very wishful thinking.

And in a country like India where even drivers do not peek into the rear view mirrors before changing lanes, do you really expect pax to do it before opening doors? Heck, mostly ORVMs are kept in retracted position while driving here!

[Zappo]

Ummm... may be not guys. Notable things here are

1. This mirror does not looks foldable; so you will end up with a mirror that's always showing (so to say)

2. Most passengers when they are getting down look diagonally ahead, the reason why some of them may end up opening the door suddenly in front of something approaching the car from that side. This is a very "in your face" mirror in that sense and will end up telling you that there is something behind even when you are not actively looking to check whether there is something behind you.

This may not be a path breaking accessory but looks interestingly practical and just designed to address a problem.

[roy_libran]

I am inclined to agree with Zappo and the OP. It certainly seems like a very useful accessory to me. The only thing I don't like about this specific example is it's design. The radius of curvature of the mirror needs to be lesser, and needs to be more flush with the body. I hope, companies pick this up quickly and start providing this as a well designed official accessory.

[Sankar]

Very useful for absent minded people opening doors without checking. This should accompanied by a in-your-face sticker reminding the passengers to check mirror before opening the door

[tharian]

In this day and age of ease and convenience of any activity , I am for this totally.

A driver will have the presence of mind to look in his wing mirror before opening the door and so may the front passenger. But most of the times, the rear passengers are not going to turn their head (it would be the drivers job to look out ) and this is very useful.

Also, on a yellow board , with all their fancy fittings and contraptions, this is not going to look out of place.

[Vishyvish]

My earlier response somehow did not get registered. This is a fantastic out of the box solution, as have personally seen mishaps in this regard.
Agree, the rear pax, must have a visual clearance before he or she opens the door. But practically it seems difficult as its quite a task to turn your head around to check, especially with the "C" pillar blocking your view in sedans. A strain to your neck, unless you are gifted with maneourvability like the giraffe!!!

[Mr.Boss]

It is definitely a useful accessory at least for elderly people. My dad feels little strained to turn around / back before opening the rear door. On the other hand, on a traffic night won't the HL beam from the vehicles behind us disturb a lot (especially when the fellow behind is unaware about Low beam).

[audioholic]

Though the idea is quite acceptable, it all boils down to the mindset of people. If a person is indeed lazy/careless, he will neither look back nor look at the mirror. They will directly jump to the task of opening the door. If a person is cautious and careful, give them a mirror or not, they will look back before opening the door.

Some rules should be imbibed in any person at home or who travels with you.

1. Personally, I unlock the doors only when the area is clear of traffic. And people travelling with me aren't supposed to unlock doors on their own .

2. If the above is not possible, insist people use the passenger side door first to get down. If the car is full then the drivers side rear door can be opened.

The worst habit is flinging open the door at full force without looking around though the person could get out with minimal opening. This doesn't give time for any traffic behind to react to the situation. If we first unlatch the door, and then gradually open it a little at a time, people coming behind can get to know our intention and at least try to avoid us on time. This especially is important in busy streets. Sadly, very few people really care.

[libranof1987]

True, this is actually quite a practical solution to making sure there's no oncoming traffic in the line of the door.

To all those who say you should just look out of the window, what when it is raining, or a vehicle comes to close by while you're sticking your neck out, or elderly people who can't exactly move around spraining their neck?

Regardless of aesthetics, I think this could be quite an effective (but obviously not 100% one-size-fits-all) workaround.

[KaandBaaz]

Originally Posted by KVNair

I asked the taxi driver where I can buy them and he gave me a leaflet from the mirror’s manufacturer. I did not try calling the seller, but the taxi driver said that a pair of these mirrors costs around S$17 or so. Quite expensive!

Nice accessory, but I wouldn't add it to my car. Just kills the design aspect.

OI : you can check at SIM-LIM square or at Little India, you might get it there. And Singapore is an expensive city mate.

[kingofmyworld]

This is in a way a good accessory since the few or maybe majority of the new gen cars have a BIG C pillar which creates a blind spot. This particular accessory gives you a better view of whats approaching from behind and when it is safe to open the door.

[mashmash]

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[KVNair]

This accessory has since evolved and become inconspicuous, but still serves its purpose as I saw recently in a car. See the pic to know more.