The “Passing Eye” Vintage Accessory Mirror

Look what I found collecting dust in an antique store the other day: a vintage “Passing Eye” mirror!

The “Passing Eye” mirror was designed to give the driver a view of the oncoming lane of traffic when his vision was obstructed by another vehicle directly ahead of him. The outside mirror catches the picture of the oncoming lane of traffic and reflects the image to the inner mirror, and this enabled the driver to know if it was safe to pass without swerving into the middle of the road. This is what it looks like on the Dodge:

I found lots of newspaper advertisements for the Passing Eye, and they all date to 1949 and 1950 like this one from the May 24, 1949 Decatur Daily Review:

Note that the ad claims 49% of accidents were caused by “pulling out to go around.” That seems like a bit of an exaggeration, but it is still a neat accessory for any classic car!