Final answer:
Properly adjusted motorcycle mirrors help to minimize blind spots and provide views of the lanes beside and behind the motorcycle. Diverging mirrors are used in vehicles for their wider field of view, though they can make objects appear smaller and farther away.
Step-by-step explanation:
Properly adjusted mirrors on a motorcycle serve several critical safety functions. They help the motorcyclist to reduce vulnerable blind spots, providing a much more comprehensive view of what is happening on the road. Specifically, they allow the rider to see a major portion of the lane beside the motorcycle and at least half the lane behind it. This helps in enhancing situational awareness and making safer decisions while changing lanes or reacting to traffic conditions.
Diverging mirrors, or convex mirrors, are often used for rear-view mirrors in vehicles because they have the advantage of providing a wider field of view, which enables drivers to see more area behind and to the sides of the vehicle. However, the main disadvantage of using a diverging mirror compared with a flat one is that objects in the mirror appear smaller and thus farther away than they actually are, which can sometimes lead to misjudgment of distance and speed of approaching vehicles.