Best Blind Spot Mirrors: Check It

Top 8 Best Blind Spot Mirrors

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: check yer bind spot! More than a few collisions (notice we didn’t call them “accidents”) occur because drivers heedlessly heave their car into an adjacent lane only to find themselves occupying the same time and space as another vehicle. This leads to Expensive Noises.

Plenty of machines on the road today are equipped with blind-spot monitoring systems, most of which use a system that detects when another vehicle is in one’s blind spot and flashes an amber light, usually on the face of the car’s sideview mirror. Still, there are plenty of cars that don’t have this tech – and more than a few rolling around in which it was not available when they were built – so we assembled eight options found on Amazon.

Your author is selecting this option because it combines a healthy footprint with a modicum of adjustability. It also has a metal, not plastic, frame which should stand up to the rigors of even the most violent New York City parking job. Its adhesive is touted as a strong all-weather bonding strip that “makes life safer forever.”

Hyperbole aside, it’s the swivel adjustment that is most appealing, since very few households are comprised of drivers all of the same size and height. The glass is advertised as being glare-proof which will help prevent the headlights of Chad’s Jeep from drilling into your eyeballs. Theoretically, it could also be used as a standalone mirror for bikes.

Chances are, when one thinks of aftermarket blind-spot mirrors, they’re imagining these little round stick on jobbies that have inhabited the aisles of every AutoZone and Pep Boys since approximately the dawn of time. A simple peel-and-stick affair, these lenses are 2 inches on the round and provide a fish eye view of the world astern.

The unit shown here is slightly different from the ones your Pop applied to his 1982 GMC pickup back in the day. Like the previous option, this one also has a swivel base, albeit one that only tilts left and right instead of in all directions. It’s still better than a static stick-on, of course. Best of all, it costs less than your morning Starbucks coffee.

This curiously capitalized option is probably one of the better looking units on this list, if something like aesthetics appeals to someone who’s sticking extra mirrors on their car. The lens is long and thin with tapered edges, giving it a slightly more sleek look than most of the other alternatives shown here.

A flexible base allows for adjustment of up to 20 degrees which will help drivers of different heights and viewing preferences. Its rectangular shape also allows buyers more freedom when choosing a place to stick it on their side mirrors, as it will fit vertically along the side of the factory mirror instead of just having to be placed in a corner.

We’re including a selection of clip-on options for interior rearview mirrors since they can serve as a means to broaden your view astern. In this manner, they can be considered a blind spot mirror. This unit measures 11.4 inches wide and about three inches high, making for a lens that’s generous but not big enough to scupper your forward sightlines.

This one’s listed as anti-glare, a good thing as some customers report that it can mess with the day/night tab on the factory mirror. Twin adjustable buckles mean this thing should fit most cars and trucks, even though I’m sure one of you hobos in the comments will complain about it not fitting the mirror in their flawless 1985 Ford Ranger.

Sticking with interior solutions to vexing blind-spot problems, this enormous mirror should allow drivers to see everything that is behind them, including looming deadlines. Spanning a vast 15.2 inches wide and 3.2 inches tall, this mirror is actually a trio of lenses, with the outer two rectangles able to be adjusted like the pages of a book.

Of course, a mirror this size is bound to impact forward vision to some degree, especially if one spends their time craning their necks at stoplights or navigating steep hills at the off-road park. It’s certainly a bit of a trade-off but if a wide convex viewing platform to the world astern is what you seek, this is surely the mirror for you. Reviews show those who have bought it a quite satisfied.

Your author will freely admit he often chooses form over function; how else to explain his inexplicable penchant for large two-door coupes? With that in mind, I’ll say these things are surely functional but also one of the ugliest accessories with which one could ever pollute their car. Perching on the upper corner of a sideview mirror, they look like deformed Mickey Mouse ears.

Marketed as both a blind spot and towing mirror - which makes sense because the brand name is also found on many other trailer accessories - the seller alleges that, despite its stand-up appearance, the design utilizes airflow to stabilize the mirror. Um, okay. I’d give more credit to the stout mounting system for that. Its base is contoured to fit both flat and curved mirror surfaces.

The seller markets this option specifically for third-gen Ram pickups, as its size and shape is intended to precisely fit the outer upper corner of that truck’s sideview mirrors. Really, though, they’re good for any rig with outside rearview peepers. Measuring nearly three inches square, this convex lens should give you a good view of the road behind.

A low price means no fancy adjustments but also a good dose of inherent simplicity. After all, if there’s no moving parts, there’s nothing to break. This is a strictly a stick-n-go affair. Most trucks have power mirrors, so using the stock adjustments for the main lens will have to suffice when fine tuning this convex add-on.

This two-pack is priced just a little bit more than a tenner, making it not much more expensive than your last run to Taco Bell. These are designed to live in the upper outside corner of your sideview mirrors and are shaped differently for the left and right sides. The seller says they use only outdoor and water-rated adhesive, meaning the things should stick like proverbial glue.

The mirrors are 3 inches wide by almost 2 inches tall, meaning they should provide a decent viewing area without scuppering the rest of your sideview mirror. Here's something fun: they are frameless in design, meaning no ugly plastic strip circling the mirror's edge. We're not sure why the supposed company founder is shown standing atop a white Audi TT but here we are.

FAQs

Which blind spot mirror is best?

Although you may have your personal choice about what you consider ‘the best’, some blind spot mirrors that have gained a decent number of positive reviews on Amazon are listed below:

Ampper Blind Spot Mirror ( Buy here!)

These are round in shape, use the convex lens, and can be installed on cars, SUVs, trucks, UTVs, and ATVs. In other words, these blind spot mirrors are a universal fit. However, the manufacturer doesn’t recommend using them on motorcycles.

Fit System C0400 ( Buy here!)

This pair of blind spot mirrors is a universal fit which means that the set can be installed on any vehicle. These mirrors are round in shape and use the convex lens for the visuals of the blind spots on the roads.

Are blind spot mirrors effective?

As long as they are installed correctly and in the right position, yes, they are quite effective when it comes to driving safety, especially on long drives. Because blind spots are the areas of the road that the company-fitted internal and side mirrors of a car are unable to cover when installed, they offer the following benefits:

See Overtaking Vehicles

Blind-spot mirrors enable you to see the vehicles that are approaching from behind at a high speed and are about to overtake yours.

Safe Lane Changing

Blind-spot mirrors are also helpful while changing lanes when driving as they allow you to see the traffic around your car, and most importantly, the vehicles that are hidden behind it.

Safe Parking

With blind sport mirrors, because you can see most of the hidden areas, it becomes way easier to park your car and take it out when needed without bumping into the other parked vehicles.

Kids’ Safety

With blind spot mirrors, you can easily see if the kids with short height are somewhere around the car so you can take necessary precautions to keep them safe while driving and/or parking.

Keeping the above advantages in mind, it can be said that blind spot mirrors are quite effective for safe driving.

However, because these mirrors use the convex lens and have a fish-eye or round shape, the objects behind your car appear closer and smaller than they are in real. Because of this, sometimes the drivers may get an inaccurate image of the other vehicles, thus becoming vulnerable to road accidents.

Are blind spot mirrors legal?

Not always, and not everywhere. In some parts of the US, particularly in California, the authorities believe that the standard internal and side rear-view mirrors are quite sufficient to get a proper view of the road. The only thing the drivers need to do is, adjust the side mirrors correctly, and slightly move their head to get the full visuals, and therefore no other after-market tool or accessory is needed to be installed whatsoever.

Similarly, different countries may have varied laws and policies about using blind spot mirrors, and you must check the legal documentation to get all the details before installing them on your vehicle.

Where do I put my blind spot mirrors?

The best place to install blind spot mirrors is at the outmost edge of the driver and passenger side rear-view mirrors. Because blind spot mirrors are comparatively small in size, they can be easily placed at the lower or upper part of the main mirrors as their sole purpose is to give you an idea about the objects lurking at the blind spots.

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(Editor’s note: This post is meant to both help you be an informed shopper for automotive products but also to pay for our ‘90s sedan shopping habits operating expenses. Some of you don’t find these posts fun, but they help pay for Junkyard Finds, Rare Rides, Piston Slaps, and whatever else. Thanks for reading.)

[Main photo credit: WishnclickS / ShutterStock.com. Product images provided by the manufacturer.]