Mirrors on the new Pierce trucks.

[texastom791 31]

On the new trucks that pierce is making the mirrors are out in front instead of on the side. Is there an advantage to having the mirrors there or is this just a style thing with pierce trying to make their trucks look more Futuristic? Also is pierce the only manufacturer to do this with mirrors?

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

Pierce trucks are not the only manufacturer to do this. There is a Spartan/Aerialscope in Roosevelt, New York with these kinds of mirrors on their truck.

LINK: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...u/Roosevelt.htm

[Porsha911gt3 8]

The reason that Pierce uses the mirrors is safety. With traditional mirrors that are mounted on the door or next to the lower part of the windshield they can easily be blocked by the passenger or by an item on the dash. These mirrors actually meet school bus standards for visibility. They even have mirrors that look down at the ground in front to make sure no one is there. Another advantage to having them out front is the driver does not need to take their eyes so far off the road to check their mirrors.

Judging by peoples reaction on this site alone, I doubt Pierce uses them for looks. Unfortunately these mirrors are a victim of tradition and looks versus function and safety

http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php?showtopi...pierce+velocity

Here is an excerpt from the Pierce website

PIERCE'S EXCLUSIVE ONE-ELEVEN MIRRORS make the Velocity the only OEM fire truck to meet FMVSS-111 visibility standards for school buses. They are positioned to minimize

both the body and head movements of the driver, and they ensure that the officer’s position does not interfere with passenger side mirror visibility. This positioning has the added

advantages of providing visibility down to the front bumper as well as along the sides of the body, and narrows the overall width of the vehicle by as much as eight inches as compared

to conventional door-mounted mirrors.

http://www.piercemfg.com/ModelDetails.html...1b81dd43#safety

Edited April 4, 2008 by Porsha911gt3

[BedfordFire 7]

I was going to start a thread on those mirrors on the new Pierce Velocity; they may look wierd, but do a good job of showing you whats infront of and around your vehicle at the same time. Heres an example (although not factory installed) of these mirrors on a tower ladder: http://www.fdnytrucks.com/images/otherstat...seveltTL735.jpg

Come to think of it, the only other place I've seen these mirrors, are on the new Thomans Built Buses http://www.thomasbus.com/_img/home/beauty-3.jpg

As I stated in the original Velocity thread, these are the same mirrors used on the Saf-T-Liner models from Thomas School Busses; Pierce adapted their design from them.

[NYRangers30 1]

The new look is quite nice, though i am going to have to stick to tradition and say that i like the old style better

[xfirefighter484x 234]

Ya know, crazy as it sounds, I like 'em!

[DOC22 1]

Ya know, crazy as it sounds, I like 'em!

AAAHHH, sometmes I gotta wonder about ya, Nate!!!!!

[Doc 11]

Awe.... It's got FLOPPY EARS! Now it just needs some vinyl sad puppydog eyes on the windshield.

[ajsbear 11]

From the drivers standpoint when you look into those mirrors you don't have to take your eyes off the road as you would door mounted mirrors. Also if you have a large person in the officers seat and they lean forward you can't see that mirror.

[IzzyEng4 427]

From the drivers standpoint when you look into those mirrors you don't have to take your eyes off the road as you would door mounted mirrors. Also if you have a large person in the officers seat and they lean forward you can't see that mirror.

I agree though I don not like the "look" of them on the Impel and Velocity. But also they are great when looking into them, they are right out in front of you. Though being used to having door mounted mirrors, I noticed them on a bus up in Boston while I was riding it and man talk about the "view" you get. These definitely beat the large style mirrors that are mounted on the corners of truck cabs and have to look through the side curve of the windshield.