The Blind Mirror: The Truth Behind a Ritualistic Murder and a Mysterious Disappearance

A surreal, playful reference to a window with blinds. The striped mirrors break up and abstract its reflections, while the larger pane feels more open and dreamy. A subtle reminder to take a moment, open the window and daydream amongst the clouds.

A blind spot in a vehicle or vehicle blind spot is an area around the vehicle that cannot be directly seen by the driver while at the controls, under existing circumstances.[1] In transport, driver visibility is the maximum distance at which the driver of a vehicle can see and identify prominent objects around the vehicle.[2] Visibility is primarily determined by weather conditions (see visibility) and by a vehicle's design.[3] The parts of a vehicle that influence visibility include the windshield, the dashboard and the pillars. Good driver visibility is essential to safe road traffic.

The Blind Mirror

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Blind spots exist in a wide range of vehicles: aircraft, cars, buses, trucks, agricultural equipments, heavy equipments, boats, ships, trams, and trains. Blind spots may occur in the front of the driver when the A-pillar (also called the windshield pillar), side-view mirror, or interior rear-view mirror block a driver's view of the road. Behind the driver, cargo, headrests, and additional pillars may reduce visibility. Proper adjustment of mirrors and the use of other technical solutions can eliminate or alleviate vehicle blind spots.

Rearward invisibility is an entirely different matter. The area directly behind vehicles is the source of back-up collisions, particularly involving pedestrians, children, and objects directly aft of a vehicle. That area has been called a "killing zone".[12][13] These problems are the object of a number of technological solutions, including (in rough order of technological complexity, simplest first): rear-view mirror, side-view mirror, fresnel lens, sonar, parking sensors, and backup camera. A similar problem attaches to positions left and right of a vehicles' rear bumper as the driver attempts to back out of a parking space. Specially designed cross traffic alert warning systems have been developed to address these.[6][14][15]

This diagram shows the blocked view in a horizontal-plane in front of the driver. The front-end blind spots caused by this can create problems in traffic situations, such as in roundabouts, intersections, and road crossings. Front-end blind spots are influenced by the following design criteria:

A driver may reduce the size of a blind spot or eliminate it completely by turning their head in the direction of the obstruction. This allows the driver to see better around the obstruction and allows the driver better depth perception.

Blind spots also exist around trams (streetcars/trolleys) and trains (locomotives with freight cars (goods wagons) and/or passenger cars (carriages/coaches) and multiple units).[21][22][23]Heavier rolling stocks can have up to several meters of blind spot. This is generally known as the dead visual range of a train. To address this, cameras are sometimes placed around train driver's cab to cover the missing field of view.

Blind spots also exist in front of boats and ships.[26] When the boat accelerates, the bow rises, increasing the size of the blind spot. Large vessels can have up to several hundreds of meters of blind spot. This is generally known as the dead visual range of a ship. To address this, cameras are sometimes placed in the front of the vessel to cover the missing field of view.

Blind spots also exist around aircraft (helicopters, airships, airplanes, gliders).[27] When the aircraft (airplane) accelerates for take off, increasing the size of the blind spot below fuselage. Heavier aircraft can have up to several meters of blind spot. This is generally known as the dead visual range of an aircraft. To address this, cameras are sometimes placed in the front of the aircraft to cover the missing field of view.

The innovative safety feature will be standard equipment beginning this fall. The Blind Spot Mirror replaces traditional side view mirrors and features an integrated convex spotter mirror that provides an optimized view of the driver's blind spot.

The Blind Spot Mirror is a traditional side-view mirror designed with a secondary convex spotter in the top outer corner, which provides a view of the driver's blind spot. When traffic enters the driver's blind spot on either side of the vehicle, it is visible in the secondary convex mirror, alerting the driver of potential danger.

"We're committed to offering new features that address unmet customer needs," Kohlstrand said. "Customers told us that visibility is important to them and that they specifically desired a more effective outside rear-view mirror."

Early drive clinics conducted by Ford show that the Blind Spot Mirror is a feature that customers want and value. Nearly 76 percent of focus group clinic participants said the mirror improved their confidence while driving. In addition, the participants said the learning curve or adjustment to the using the Blind Spot Mirror was minimal, Ford said.

Unlike aftermarket offerings, the Blind Spot Mirror uses one continuous glass surface and is robust to the elements, Ford said. The factory-installed spotter mirror is specifically designed for the vehicle and provides an optimized field of view.

A side mirror that eliminates the dangerous "blind spot" for drivers has now received a U.S. patent. The subtly curved mirror, invented by Drexel University mathematics professor Dr. R. Andrew Hicks, dramatically increases the field of view with minimal distortion. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1449240174198-2'); ); Traditional flat mirrors on the driver's side of a vehicle give drivers an accurate sense of the distance of cars behind them but have a very narrow field of view. As a result, there is a region of space behind the car, known as the blind spot, that drivers can't see via either the side or rear-view mirror. It's not hard to make a curved mirror that gives a wider field of view – no blind spot – but at the cost of visual distortion and making objects appear smaller and farther away.Hicks's driver's side mirror has a field of view of about 45 degrees, compared to 15 to 17 degrees of view in a flat driver's side mirror. Unlike in simple curved mirrors that can squash the perceived shape of objects and make straight lines appear curved, in Hicks's mirror the visual distortions of shapes and straight lines are barely detectable.Hicks, a professor in Drexel's College of Arts and Sciences, designed his mirror using a mathematical algorithm that precisely controls the angle of light bouncing off of the curving mirror."Imagine that the mirror's surface is made of many smaller mirrors turned to different angles, like a disco ball," Hicks said. "The algorithm is a set of calculations to manipulate the direction of each face of the metaphorical disco ball so that each ray of light bouncing off the mirror shows the driver a wide, but not-too-distorted, picture of the scene behind him."Hicks noted that, in reality, the mirror does not look like a disco ball up close. There are tens of thousands of such calculations to produce a mirror that has a smooth, nonuniform curve.Hicks first described the method used to develop this mirror in Optics Letters in 2008 ( ).In the United States, regulations dictate that cars coming off of the assembly line must have a flat mirror on the driver's side. Curved mirrors are allowed for cars' passenger-side mirrors only if they include the phrase "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear."Because of these regulations, Hicks's mirrors will not be installed on new cars sold in the U.S. any time soon. The mirror may be manufactured and sold as an aftermarket product that drivers and mechanics can install on cars after purchase. Some countries in Europe and Asia do allow slightly curved mirrors on new cars. Hicks has received interest from investors and manufacturers who may pursue opportunities to license and produce the mirror. More information:The U.S. patent, "Wide angle substantially non-distorting mirror" (United States Patent 8180606) was awarded to Drexel University on May 15, 2012.Journal information:Optics Letters

Ford also is in a race with General Motors to bring the technology to market. Blind-spot mirrors will be a standard feature on some versions of the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse crossover, which starts production in September, GM spokesman Terry Rhadigan said.

Before the release of modern blind spot monitoring systems, we all craned our necks to peek for a car in the blind spot before switching lanes. However, getting rid of those blind spots and saving your neck comes down to simply adjusting your side mirrors to coordinate with your rear view mirror and to give you a wider viewing area.

If you got into an accident or clipped your garage as you backed out, you may have broken your side view mirror. If you are in need of a new side mirror, give us a call. Our service team would be happy to order the part you need and ensure that it is installed properly when it arrives.

We evaluated the efficacy of intubation over a gum-elastic bougie by using either a blind technique or indirect laryngoscopy with a laryngeal mirror in patients with unexpected difficult direct laryngoscopy. In a prospective study, 60 consecutive patients with an unexpected Grade III or IV direct laryngoscopy were randomly allocated for intubation with a gum-elastic bougie either blindly (Group 1) or by indirect laryngoscopy with a laryngeal mirror (Group 2). We evaluated the failure rate of each method of intubation, complications related to either method, and the time required for intubation. Out of 725 patients evaluated over a 2-mo period, 60 patients (8.3%) had a Grade III laryngoscopy, and 30 of these were randomized into each group. There were 8 failed intubations in Group 1 compared with 1 failed intubation in Group 2 (P 2ff7e9595c