Why do car manufactuers put that stupid mirrow on the pass. side that makes it look like the car behind is far back ,when it really is very close to you. Why not make both mirrors the same so you have a true distance showing through that pass. mirror ?
It has to do with focal distance.
When you look in the drivers side mirror, the distance from your eyes to mirror is closer, so vehicles fill the mirror in the reflection at this distance. When you look into the passenger side mirror, the focal distance is greater. So even though the vehicle fills the mirror, it looks smaller. So you think it’s further back.
Tester
If they did not make the passenger side mirror that way you would only see a very small angle of view and it would be very easy to miss seeing cars.
It is done to give you a wider field of vision, thus allowing you to see more than if the mirror was the same as the one on the driver’s side. While it is true that the objects in the passenger side mirror appear smaller than they really are, that is the trade-off for giving you a wider field of vision.