Nonplanar Rearview Mirrors: A Survey of Mirror Types and European Driver Experience

A study is being conducted to investigate the effects of driver’s side rearview mirror types (either flat or nonplanar mirrors) on driver behavior. The study consists of a survey of mirror characteristics, interviews and questionnaires and a field experiment. The present paper gives the results of the first phase of exploratory interviews. A structured list of questions was used to gather extensive information on mirror use habits, on problems drivers have experienced, on their awareness of mirror characteristics and on background variables. The 47 respondents were categorized by age group (younger / older drivers) and driver’s side mirror type (flat, convex, aspherical). The results of this exploratory phase serve as a basis for a revised questionnaire to be used for a large sample of drivers.