Bruce, we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. We want our buses to look pretty. To maintain the pretty appearance we have these neat rectangular mirrors, sometimes supplemented with the convex mirror to expand our range of vision.

Compare what we have to trucks. At the very least the typical truck has the big mirrors similar to ours, but it also has a fairly large round convex mirror. Usually however the trucks have a mirror at the top of the passenger door set so the driver can see the car alongside his fuel tank. It is now becoming common for trucks to have a large pair of convex mirrors located near the front of the fenders that allow the driver to see along side the full length of the truck, including what is a serious blind spot on our buses.

I agree with Joe. I have the typical mirrors with the flat rectangle and the upper convex, but on the passenger side I added a small convex in the corner of the rectangular mirror to see the car next to the front wheel. I also compromise how the mirrors are set. I would like to have the mirrors set to see a little further back down the highway, but I have both tipped down enough so on the rectangular mirrors I see from the drive axle back. I cannot see a great distance behind me, but I see far enough to the rear to not be surprised by cars that can sneak up alongside of me.

The convex mirrors are set so I can see closer to the front of the coach so with the set up I have I can see a car alongside of me from about 100 feet or more to the rear until the front of the car is visible to me without mirrors. The only way to improve would be to make the rectangular mirrors taller by 50%.

My coach has power mirrors, so I adjust the RH mirror frequently depending on circumstances. When on the highway it is set to see more to the rear, but when in a campground it is set to see adjacent to my rear wheels so I do not cut a corner too sharp and hit a Jimmy Buffet rock.

My first bus had the ugly Velvac mirrors, but those mirrors were available with rectangular convex mirrors that could be attached to both the top and / or bottom of the main rectangular mirror. I had two of those fairly large convex mirrors on the passenger side and one on the driver's side. On that coach my visibility was excellent and I could literally see outward from the front tires to a few hundred feet behind me. By the time a car along side the front tires was out of sight in the mirrors the front of his car was clearly visible in the windshield.

Get a pair of small convex mirrors and when changing lanes do not hesitate to raise your butt off the driver's seat and swivel your head to insure nobody is sitting in your blind spot. It is the only way I know how to do it.