legal to use rear camera(s) and remove mirrors?
 

now that rear-camera are available and not very expensive, I am wondering if it is legal to remove side mirrors completely and use only the cameras?

In NM there is no inspection and I am sure you could weasel out of potential tickets by telling an officer the mirror fell off.... but I am wondering if it is legal, varies by state, or what ?!

I would think mounting the camera where the mirror belongs would satisfy both legal requirements and the desire to reduce the Cd.

hhmm, that would be an interesting argument... to convince a cop that the little quarter-inch camera lens fulfills all the duties of a rea-view mirror, thus should be considered legal. I think that sounds plausible!

cop:where's your mirror?
you:right there. (pointing at the camera)
cop:it's not a mirror
you:no, it sends a 3.5 megapixel image to this videoscreen here

(a thought:what power consumption would there be for such an apparatus? Would it be less than the cost of the air drag from regular mirrors? How much more enviromentally friendly is the manufacture of a mirror compared to a mini LCD display and camera?)

I have found that it is frowned upon in the MA safety inspections, but in the 2 1/2+ years I have driven with video mirrors, I have never been stopped or questioned by a police officer.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post105631

Neil! Please pm me the link to your mirror(ectomy) thread...

In Pa, the law states mirrors, including a min size and type, and that there must be two, one of which must be on the drivers side.

The link in my post above takes you to the beginning of the video mirrors posts; in my xA thread.

Video Mirrors on Scion xA

Hi All,

Most states allow you to remove the passenger side mirror, if you can see out the back of the vehicle. So, you could put a camera there without too much hassle, as long as your boatail does not block your rear view.

In suburban Chicagoland, the Cops seem to be more interested in making court appearances, than staying on the road, SO, I would not remove the driver's side mirror around here....

I just got through reading pa code. It specifically says: "(b) Rearview mirrors. A vehicle specified under this subchapter shall be equipped with at least one rearview mirror or similar device which provides the driver an unobstructed view of the highway to the rear of the vehicle for a distance of not less than 200 feet. A mirror may no be cracked, broken or discolored."

Which says that you only ACTUALLY NEED one mirror, or SIMILAR DEVICE. I.e. a camera.