Is It Legal to Drive without a Side View Mirror – Know the Driving Facts

The side view mirror is most susceptible to damage. Since it protrudes from the side of a car, it
usually gets bumped, vandalized, or broken quite easily. Sometimes, we wrongly think our car may
pass through a narrow space, but we don’t consider the protrusions called side view mirrors. Some
other times, because of a speeding car or a small collision, the mirror gets knocked off. After a point,
this gets extremely frustrating, and we end up going days or weeks without a mirror. But, is it okay
to do so?

Side view mirrors are extremely important because they help you analyze the vehicles coming from
behind. They assist our driving and ensure that we are safe. Even though it is possible to drive without them, you would be handicapped because you are blind to your surroundings. It is all a matter of guesswork when you don’t have any medium to see what’s behind you and what’s incoming. Plus, you could get on the bad side of the law without side view mirrors.

Is it legal to Drive without a Side View Mirror?

Side view mirrors are mentioned in safety requirements and laws in all states of the USA. However,
whether it is legal to drive without a side view mirror will depend on the traffic laws in your
particular state.

The federal laws are usually for the manufacturers, but the state laws and what’s considered as
“mandatory” safety equipment varies from one state to the other.

So, we cannot answer this question for sure and tell you that there’s a particular law against it. What
we can tell you is that you must be safe and learn the traffic laws in your state. Also, if you are going
on a long road trip to another state, make sure you are clear about those laws as well.

Having said all this, we think it is lazy only to do something because you don’t want to be pulled over. Side view mirrors are for our safety and for the safety of others driving on the same road. Road
accidents are increasing every year, and they result in deaths and/or gruesome injuries. Do you want
to be a road-side fatality? Surely not!

The bottom line is that regardless of whether driving without a side view mirror is illegal, you must
take all safety precautions to ensure that you drive safely. At the same time, check your state’s
traffic rules to be absolutely sure about the requirements so that you never get on the wrong side of
the law.