Vanity Mirror for Drivers

sharathjeppu · 5th May 2006, 05:59

The other day, when we were waiting at a traffic light, we saw a woman driver pull up her Swift next to ours. Guess she had to do some last minute makeup and so she twisted the rear view mirror to do the same!

I was remarking to my wife that Car makers seemed have designed most cars for only men or women drivers who don't need the vanity mirror. But I think there are cars in India which come with vanity mirror on the drivers side as well but can't seem to remember. Any body who would know?

S@~+#0$# · 5th May 2006, 06:36

Let alone driver side, my 2004 Esteem does not have a vanity mirror even on the passengers side because it is an LXi. So my girlfriend uses my rear-view mirror when she needs to adjust her makeup

.

Makes me wonder what the Esteem LX must be like?

sbasak · 5th May 2006, 15:32

Nowadays most new cars come with both side vanity mirros - so happy makeup

adya33 · 5th May 2006, 17:21

Honda Accord comes with both side vanity mirror with a flap which also acts as switch for light placed next to mirror.

deepakhon · 5th May 2006, 17:24

Palio ELX has a vanity mirror for the passenger side. I remember I had this conversation with my wife too and we too concluded that many cars are designed for male drivers.

Zappo · 5th May 2006, 17:43

Ditto here. I had the exactly same conversation with my wife one day. She was insisting that this is really chauvnistic of the manufacturers... They assume that the driver will always be a male. To which my wisecrack was "no, they did not. They saw a few women drivers when they are at the wheels and decided that when women drive they are just too busy trying to play the stiff. They will never even think of the mirror." Of course to my wife's vociferous protests I also went ahead and told her about how in my previous organization there was this female colleague of mine who would sit straight like a ramrod whenever she use to drive her M800 to office and worse still would not allow anyone to talk loudly in the car, forget switching on the music player.

No offence meant ppl...

adya33 · 5th May 2006, 17:53

You guys are missing one important point here.
If mirror is provided on driver side without a flap, then it will cause distraction when driving.
Its simple matter of safety than making cars for men or women.

Zappo · 5th May 2006, 18:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by adya33

You guys are missing one important point here.
If mirror is provided on driver side without a flap, then it will cause distraction when driving.
Its simple matter of safety than making cars for men or women.

I am not too sure about this. The vanity mirror is anyhow provided on the reverse side of the visor. So most of the times it will remain folded in. Now if you are talking about when the driver actually folds it down due to the hard sun, I am not too sure how the small mirror could be a distraction. A much bigger one (the inner RVM) always faces the driver anyhow!

adya33 · 5th May 2006, 19:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zappo

I am not too sure about this. The vanity mirror is anyhow provided on the reverse side of the visor. So most of the times it will remain folded in. Now if you are talking about when the driver actually folds it down due to the hard sun, I am not too sure how the small mirror could be a distraction. A much bigger one (the inner RVM) always faces the driver anyhow!

There is no problem when visor is closed. I was talking distraction when it is open.
And Rear view mirror is not directly in sight of driver.

sbasak · 5th May 2006, 20:04

Even in unfolded state, how can such a small mirror be distraction? Rather it will be an aid in driving (finding blind spots?)

And we don't become distracted in the crowd of autos, rickshaws and cows! Do we?

adya33 · 5th May 2006, 20:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbasak

Even in unfolded state, how can such a small mirror be distraction? Rather it will be an aid in driving (finding blind spots?)

And we don't become distracted in the crowd of autos, rickshaws and cows! Do we?

I am not shooting stars here.
I have tried it & saying it from my own experience.

You please try doing this experiment. Fix a small mirror to the visor & try driving entire day.

sharathjeppu · 5th May 2006, 23:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by adya33

I am not shooting stars here.
I have tried it & saying it from my own experience.

You please try doing this experiment. Fix a small mirror to the visor & try driving entire day.

In anycase, I think it is way safer than a situation where the woman driver uses the rear view mirror as the vanity mirror.

Also, if that is an issue, how come the newer cars are coming with vanity mirror for the drivers as well?

ivor · 6th May 2006, 01:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zappo

I am not too sure how the small mirror could be a distraction. A much bigger one (the inner RVM) always faces the driver anyhow!

I think it's the same principle used by car makers when they don't provide a roof side handle on the driver side. The idea is, the driver is supposed to drive, not adjust make-up or hold on to the roof side handle. Agreed, it's unfair to a lady driver when she wants to adjust her makeup when the car is safely parked, but then looks like car makers are just out to save a few bucks or don't see the lady driver market as being significant enough.

Incidentally, it's really ridiculous that vanity mirrors are available only on high-end versions of most hatches and don't come on the basic version. After all, how much would it cost....50 bucks at best??!!

5th May 2006, 05:59	#1
sharathjeppu BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 158 Thanked: 4 Times	Vanity Mirror for Drivers The other day, when we were waiting at a traffic light, we saw a woman driver pull up her Swift next to ours. Guess she had to do some last minute makeup and so she twisted the rear view mirror to do the same! I was remarking to my wife that Car makers seemed have designed most cars for only men or women drivers who don't need the vanity mirror. But I think there are cars in India which come with vanity mirror on the drivers side as well but can't seem to remember. Any body who would know?
	() Thanks

5th May 2006, 06:36	#2
S@~+#0$# BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 700 Thanked: 43 Times View My Garage	Let alone driver side, my 2004 Esteem does not have a vanity mirror even on the passengers side because it is an LXi. So my girlfriend uses my rear-view mirror when she needs to adjust her makeup . Makes me wonder what the Esteem LX must be like? Last edited by S@~+#0$# : 5th May 2006 at 06:37.
	() Thanks

5th May 2006, 15:32	#3
sbasak BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: CCU-LTN Posts: 607 Thanked: 16 Times	Nowadays most new cars come with both side vanity mirros - so happy makeup Last edited by sbasak : 5th May 2006 at 15:34.
	() Thanks

5th May 2006, 17:21	#4
adya33 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 1,834 Thanked: 185 Times	Honda Accord comes with both side vanity mirror with a flap which also acts as switch for light placed next to mirror.
	() Thanks

5th May 2006, 17:24	#5
deepakhon Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,441 Thanked: 77 Times	Palio ELX has a vanity mirror for the passenger side. I remember I had this conversation with my wife too and we too concluded that many cars are designed for male drivers.
	() Thanks

5th May 2006, 17:43	#6
Zappo Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 5,915 Thanked: 2,746 Times	Ditto here. I had the exactly same conversation with my wife one day. She was insisting that this is really chauvnistic of the manufacturers... They assume that the driver will always be a male. To which my wisecrack was "no, they did not. They saw a few women drivers when they are at the wheels and decided that when women drive they are just too busy trying to play the stiff. They will never even think of the mirror." Of course to my wife's vociferous protests I also went ahead and told her about how in my previous organization there was this female colleague of mine who would sit straight like a ramrod whenever she use to drive her M800 to office and worse still would not allow anyone to talk loudly in the car, forget switching on the music player. No offence meant ppl...
	() Thanks

5th May 2006, 17:53	#7
adya33 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 1,834 Thanked: 185 Times	You guys are missing one important point here. If mirror is provided on driver side without a flap, then it will cause distraction when driving. Its simple matter of safety than making cars for men or women.
	() Thanks

5th May 2006, 20:04	#10
sbasak BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: CCU-LTN Posts: 607 Thanked: 16 Times	Even in unfolded state, how can such a small mirror be distraction? Rather it will be an aid in driving (finding blind spots?) And we don't become distracted in the crowd of autos, rickshaws and cows! Do we?
	() Thanks