I have always set my side view mirrors so that they cover the car’s blind spots. My wife always complains when it’s her turn to drive the car, as she can’t stand not being able to see the sides of her own car in the side view mirrors. It makes her disoriented or something. :rolleyes: I personally can’t see why it’s so important to see your own car in your mirrors, and she considers my talk about blind spots as so much theoretical mumbo jumbo.
So how do you set them? Do you understand the other point of view?
I understand the other point of view, but think it’s crazy. If she really wants to see her car’s sides, she can lean to the left or right a little bit. Sometimes I have a smidge of a side showing, but I try my best to cover the blind spot (although honestly I am not 100% sure if I do or not).
Although, it might be fun to point your mirrors at the sky.
I understand the other point of view, but for me, YOURS is the other point of view. I side with your wife about seeing the sides. Ideally I want them barely visible at the edge of the mirror. This is part of what establishes where things are, or being oriented. The point isn’t to establish the existence of cars in some abstract way; knowing where they are in relation to me is all that matters.
It is news to me that anybody thinks differently than your wife and me. My guess is that some of us have (or imagine that we have) a good sense of the position of other cars without that reference, and for such people there are more useful regions to capture with the mirror, but for those of us who rely on the edge of the car itself as a guide, it’s important. Similarly, I think various details about the front of the car such as its corners and hood seams help judge exactly where it is, and some people find driving cars with very low and featureless hoods a little disorienting.
But by putting the mirrors closer in, you’re leaving a blind spot where potentially you won’t see another car at all.
The way I adjust my side mirrors is I take two landmarks on the very edge of either side of my rear view mirror, and adust the sides so that they just cover the same landmarks. Between my rearview mirrors, my side mirrors and my own peripheral vision I find I’m giving myself very nearly a 360 degree view of the road. If something appears in my side mirror, I know where it is already–just over my shoulder! It’s not like I’m gonna forget where my own car is, eh?
Yeah, my wife completely tunes me out on that explanation.
I don’t think that I can be sure there is no blind spot, regardless of where I put my mirrors. I was always told to check my mirrors and then over my shoulder before starting any manoeuver. Since I do that, I do aim to have a small amount of my car showing, as this helps me see further back and to the side - the over the shoulder scan/rear view mirror takes care of the rest.
I have the sides just barely visible. I turn my head to physically look before moving. Only last week I caught a tiny car in that blind spot, and it surprised me very much.
I point mine far enough out that if nothing is visible through the mirror or my side window, I know nothing is there. If a car on the right side is far enough forward that it’s not visible in the mirror, I’ll see the hood of that car in the side window. If it’s far enough back that it’s not visible in the mirror, I have plenty of room to change lanes.
I like to point them to where the sides of the car and the road are just barely visible. By “the road” I mean the road directly adjacent to the car, so the lines are clearly visible as they go by. I feel this gives me the most pertinent information as to where I am on the road. The other drivers are their own problem.
Who’s cutting you off? The ones who think the others are setting their mirrors wrong, or the other ones who think the others are setting their mirrors wrong?
Or maybe it’s the people who aren’t posting? Because the posters are the only people we are sure care enough to think about it…
Alright, I had to go outside and get in the car to answer this !
Okay, mine are set so that I can see the road behind me. I do see the side of my car too, but that’s not why they’re like that; I want to be able to see that piece of road. I also look over my shoulder before changing lanes. I have a long rear-view mirror, so that helps too.
Over the years I’ve found that any car will have blind spots; some are worse than others. My hubby’s truck, for example - entire dump trucks can hide right behind the front pillars. I don’t take much I see in the mirrors as the gospel truth without turning my head to look (if I can).
At the risk of sounding stupid, I’m not sure exactly what you mean.
Like vitually everyone else in this thread, I have them set so the sides of the car are barely visible. If I didn’t, how would I know I didn’t have them set too far out, which in and of itself would create a blindspot?
Another vote for being able to see the side of the car…just barely. By doing this I know that my mirrors are right where I expect them to be. If I can’t see the side of the car, for all I know they could be at a much wider angle then I think they are leaving the open the possibility of a small car or motorcycle being between the car and the mirrors.