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Mirror, mirror
Page 9
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Brian Weatherley reckons that when it comes to the new EU LGV mirror regs, you can't see for looking...
When the technocrats in Brussels decided to improve the all-round vision of LGV drivers, no doubt they had the best of intentions. Unfortunately, when the new EU commercial vehicle mirror regs kick in from January 2007 they could very well end up having the opposite effect.
What's so bad about that? Well, when you start adding extra mirrors on the side of a truck you create new blind spots particularly when those larger mirrors combine with a thick A-post.
It's something I've increasingly noticed while driving various trucks fitted with the new-style mirrors, especially entering a roundabout where you can lose a car or motorbike in the blind spot as you look right.
Once upon a time, you could solve the problem by simply unclamping the mirror and sliding it down the tubular stay, which allowed you to look over it.
However, today's trucks have purpose-built, and much thicker, aerodynamic support arms that are not only integrated into the mirror housing, but also carry the power feeds for the mirror's electric adjustment and heating elements. Heightwise you're stuck with them and consequently end up forever moving back and forth in your seat to peer round them.
I've asked manufacturers whether a truck couldn't have the same kind of 'praying mantis' mirrors as a coach. However, I'm told that you don't get the same picture and that there's too much distortion, particularly on the near side of an artic.
The solution must lie in changing the archaic way we help an LGV driver see around his vehicle. In an age of video cameras and proximity radar, isn't it about time we stopped looking through the glass darkly?