A motorcycle taxi driver in Indonesia may have just added a new function to the ever-growing list of uses for smartphones: becoming a makeshift side view mirror.
On Tuesday, Instagram account @newdramaojol.id, which curates memes and stories pertaining to the world of app-based motorcycle taxi drivers, posted these photos of a GrabBike driver using his phone, in selfie mode, as his side view mirror.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BggTGxEhzmu/?hl=id&taken-by=newdramaojol.id
Now, one might say that this guy is a resourceful genius, but using one’s phone as a side view mirror makes little practical sense. First of all, actual replacement side view mirrors are much cheaper than mobile phones, and most people would rather have the former fall off than the latter.
In addition, the image that appears on the phone does not give the same perception of distance to objects like side view mirrors do, for which objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. Also, as one commenter pointed out in the post above, what happens when the phone battery runs out?
All in all, using a phone as a side view mirror may be dangerous to both the driver and others on the road. Hopefully, the driver in the viral photos is not doing this permanently — it’s implied that he was just doing it for shits and giggles as the original caption for the photos read “just for fun”.
Under Indonesian traffic law, driving a motorcycle without an appropriate, unmodified side view mirrors is punishable by 1 month in prison or a fine of IDR250K (US$18.20).
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