Why are vehicle mirrors often slightly convex?
- A To give a wider field of vision
- B To totally cover blind spots
- C To make it easier to judge the speed of traffic behind
- D To make traffic behind look bigger
Why this is the answer
A convex mirror gives a wide view of the scene behind. However, it will not show you everything behind, or to the side of, your vehicle. Before you move off, look over your shoulder to check for anything that's not visible in the mirrors.
Why the other answers don't fit
- B
- To totally cover blind spots — No mirror covers a blind spot; that is what makes it blind.
- C
- To make it easier to judge the speed of traffic behind — A convex mirror makes things look further away, so speed is harder to judge.
- D
- To make traffic behind look bigger — Traffic looks smaller in a convex mirror, not bigger.
Where this comes from
- Driving: the essential skills — section 4
Rule numbers link to The Highway Code on gov.uk.
Where this question comes from
The question, its options and the explanation are reproduced word for word from the DVSA revision question bank under licence. The licence requires them to appear unaltered, so we cannot reword them and neither can anyone else — that is why you will meet the same wording on other sites. Everything else on this page is written by Theory Hub: the explanation of why each wrong answer is wrong, the topic guide and the revision notes.
Asked in: Driving Instructor (ADI Part 1)
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