This quasi-experiment was designed to investigate the effects of the type of driver-side mirror on lane-change accidents. The analysis was based on 407 accidents reported from 1987 to 1992 to Finnish insurance companies, for vehicles with passenger-side convex mirrors and one of three types of driver-side mirrors (flat, convex, or multiradius). Results showed that there was no difference between the multiradius and convex mirrors in the frequencies of lane-change accidents to the left. Compared to the flat mirror, the mean effect of the multiradius and convex mirror was a 22 percent decrease. The 95 percent confidence interval ranged from a 51 percent decrease to a 25 percent increase. This result was not related to driver characteristics or driving conditions. From a practical point, these findings support the use of multiradius and convex driver-side mirrors.
Samenvatting