Hello,

There is a caution sign often written in the rear mirror of vehicles. The caution sign says ' OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR.' It means When a driver sees a car in the passenger-side mirror, that car is closer than the reflection would indicate.

The science behind it is Optics or in simpler word is light. The mirror used in the rear view mirror of vehicles is actually a curved mirror - CONVEX MIRROR and not a simple plain mirror. In layman terms this mirror, since it is curved reflects light rays from the vehicle behind in different manner and hence displays images in different manner.

A convex mirror is used as a rear view mirror because it covers a large area behind your vehicle and you can see the cars in larger area approaching you than you would see by a plain mirror.

Thank you