side view mirrors

Here's a quickee that's kinda related to the previous post.

In a car, you have a back-view mirror, and a rear-view mirror, and even with the 3 mirrors and windows on everyside, cars still have blindspots. Blindspots are dangerous.

If you have driven on mountain roads before, you should have seen some safety mirrors that show you what is around the corner. They are there so you can notice if there are any cars coming, but not necessarily to identify which kind of car it is. Those mirrors are not flat. They are convex so that you can see the widest range on the other side of the bend. So why are side-view mirrors flat?

When you look in your sideview, you may want to tell what is passing by behind you, so it should be flat for most of its surface area. But if the edges of these mirrors are rounded, even though you can't really see too clearly what is there, you can notice if there is something in your blind spot. That can make a difference between being 10 seconds late to your destination and flattening a scooter.... that has a whole family on it.