Are you driving with blind-spots?

Even in the best of conditions, changing lanes can be an adventure.

The fact is that there is no such thing of a blind spot unless you are in a large vehicle, in which case there is a blind spot behind the back window. Blind spots are created by the driver, and are easily solved by proper mirror placement. Most people have their mirrors adjusted so that they can see the side of their car. Why? It’s going the same place the front of the car is. This causes a large overlap in view between the side mirrors and back mirrors, and completely eliminates any view ahead of the rear quarter panel.

Here are a few tips to help you adjust your car’s mirrors to minimize the blind-spots.

Before starting you’ll need a safe place to park your car while you are adjusting your mirrors and an assistant.     Park your car in a location where you can visualize that you are driving on the freeway in one of the middle lanes with one lane of traffic on either side of your vehicle. The far ends of parking lots often good test areas as there are not many cars and your assistant to walk around the vehicle.

You will need to be sitting in the driver’s seat to follow these directions properly.

1. Move your driver’s side sideview mirrors outward. Press your head against the glass of the driver’s side window and adjust your mirror so you can barily see the side of it. Remember! You want to be looking back down the lane beside your driver’s side, not at the side of your car.
2. Move your passenger’s sideview mirror outward. Move your body so that your head is in the middle of the car (in front of the rear view mirror) and adjust the passanger mirror so that you can see a small part of the car. Again, you do not want this mirror to duplicate the functionality of your review mirror. Instead of looking at the same thing your review mirror is looking at, you want this mirror looking at the lane beside you.
3. Check to see that you cannot see the sides of your car with your sideview mirrors. Both of these mirrors should be adjusted to give a clear view of the lanes beside you, not the sides of your car.
4. Check to see that your mirrors do not duplicate each other. All three mirrors — your 2 sideview mirrors and your rearview mirror — should each give you a unique perspective on what is behind you. If any one of these mirrors duplicates the view of the other, you have likely failed to adjust your mirrors properly.
   

   How to adjust mirros to remove blind spots

5. Ask a friend to walk around the back of your car. Make sure there is no direction from which your friend can approach your car and blindside you. Adjust your mirrors so that you can see your friend at all times.
6. Be on the lookout for blind spots. As your friend circles your car, make sure that he can be seen from every angle. As he transitions from your rearview mirror to go to your passenger mirror, you should have a visual fix on him that is uninterrupted.Likewise, there should be no interruptions in continuity as your friend travels from a rearview to a driver’s side view in your mirrors. You haven’t got it right yet until all blind spots behind you are removed!
7. Check your sides and front as well. You should be able to pick up your friend as he transitions from your sideview mirrors to your peripheral vision as he travels from the back of your car on either side to the front. Remember! The goal is no blindspots.
8. Make sure you never have to move your head. If your friend can travel completely around your car and you never lose sight of him while keeping your head pointed in a straight-ahead position, you are done.It is your eyes you want to move as you drive, not your head. The time it takes you to move your head could prove fatal! When driving, milliseconds count.
9. Aspire to always be aware of everything that is around you. If you can acquire a 360 degree sense of everything that is around you as you drive, your driving will improve.Never again let yourself be blindsided by another vehicle approaching your car — no matter what direction that vehicle might come from. All vehicles approaching your car should be on your mental radar at all times.

Anything that improves your vision will improve your driving.  So pass this along.