Objects in mirror are closer than they appear
The phrase "objects in (the) mirror are closer than they appear" is a safety warning that is required to be engraved on passenger side mirrors of motor vehicles in the USA, Canada and India. It is present because while these mirrors' convexity gives them a useful field of view, it also makes objects appear smaller. Since smaller-appearing objects seem farther away than they actually are, a driver might make a maneuver such as a lane change assuming an adjacent vehicle is a safe distance behind, when in fact it is quite a bit closer. The warning serves as a reminder to the driver of this potential problem.
In popular culture
Despite its origin as a utilitarian safety warning, the phrase has become a well known catch phrase that has been used for many other purposes. Some of them are:
- Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear, the 2000 debut album of rap rock group Confrontation Camp.
- Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear, a 2005 album by Jozef van Wissem.
- Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear, a 1995 novel by Katharine Weber.
- Showing an approach of a Tyrannosaurus rex in the film Jurassic Park, which was parodied in Toy Story 2.
- A Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson in which the side mirror showed a very large eyeball.
- A reference in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, in which a pejorative term replaces "objects."
- "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are," a 1994 song performed by Meat Loaf and written by Jim Steinman.
- A reference in Transformers: Dark of the Moon when Dino, Bumblebee and Sideswipe are protecting Sentinel from the dreads, this appears in a brief shot in Dino's mirror.
- "Objects In The Mirror," a song performed by American rapper Mac Miller on his second studio album Watching Movies with the Sound Off
- "Subjects in the mirror are more far than they appear" the title of experimental visual project by Hungarian director/production designer Pater Sparrow
- Blind spot (automobile)
- Blind spot monitor
- Driver visibility
- Parking sensors
- Rear-view mirror
- Mind the gap, another utilitarian safety warning, used at various London Underground stations, that has also become a well-known catchphrase despite its origins.
- For example, in the U.S, PART 571 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, Section 571.111 S5.4.2 "Each convex mirror shall have permanently and indelibly marked at the lower edge of the mirror's reflective surface, in letters not less than 4.8 mm nor more than 6.4 mm high the words “Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear.”
- Why does the passenger side window on my car state 'objects in mirror are closer than they appear?' Explanation from PhysLink.com.