Concourse rear view mirror puzzle

[ngpsaki]

Driving down the road, I noticed something strange about my interior rear view mirror: It is aligned down the center of the vehicle, but a vehicle behind me only appears on the left side of the mirror (and then only if it is a tall vehicle, but that's another topic.) It is almost as though the rear of the vehicle is at an angle to the road! Any ideas on this?

[BobW9]

That is because the rear door is not in the center of the vehicle, but offset to the passenger side. So the mirror isn't looking straight back, even though looking through it, it feels like it is. It is also higher than you think, which is why you don't see shorter vehicles.

I recommend getting a plastic fresnel lens they make for trucks and RV's. it is about 12 x 8 or something, and sticks to the back window. It's properties are such that it pulls in light from around it, so you'll see a wider and taller/shorter field of view than normal. You'll see cars much better, even when they are on your bumper. Just always keep in mind that they will appear further away than they really are, another of the fresnel lens effects.

Or a back-up / rear-view camera, of course.