You had a slight typo there. It should read “I point my mirrors so that my car’s image at their edge provides a proper, safe, wise, reasonable, well-thought-out reference to where my car is (since I can’t figure that out otherwise even though I’m sitting in the damn thing) while allowing a car at my left rear to be totally out of view, which is obviously the best way to enhance my chances of changing lanes right into it.”
Nonsense. The mirror is pointed at the lane next to my car. If I see a car there, I don’t have to look over my shoulder to know it is unsafe to change lanes. If I don’t see a car there, I will make a quick glance over my shoulder to double check (or look for someone merging over from the next lane). Having the side of the car in view makes the side view mirror mostly redundant with the rear view.
AAAAAAAAAGH!
I hate this nonsense, the reason you have side mirrors is NOT so you can look at your own car like the advocates of the “no blind spots” method keep implying. with the side mirrors adjusted out into what would normally be your blind spot you now can use the rear view to spot cars or whatever coming up in the lane beside you…until you have a vehicle move in even a little close from behind, which leaves a HUGE ASS BLIND SPOT
get some damn bubble mirrors if you want to eliminate your blind spot already.
(note I teach drivers ed, I have plenty of reason to study this and the guys I work with who use the lean and look method “mirrors pointed out” all swear by it and every single one of them has had multiple near misses when lane changing due to vehicles to close behind)
You have a rear-view mirror and side-view mirrors.
The “rear-view” mirror is to view the space to your rear.
The “side-view” mirrors are to view the spaces to your sides, not viewing the side of your own car.
Viewing the side of your own car is useless.
If you can see your own car in the side-view mirror, then your side view mirrors are viewing the space to your REAR and not the spaces to your sides.
I agree that having a point of reference in your mirror is helpful, but that point of reference should be the lane striping to either side of your car, not your car itself. Doing this will give you that point of reference and will move your side view out perhaps another 4 feet compared to using the side of your car as the reference point.
Another benefit of doing it this way is that, if a car is behind you at night with its headlights on, and you use the side of your car as the reference point, then you will have headlights in your eyes from all your mirrors. If you can see headlights of a car behind you in your side view mirrors, then your side view mirrors are actually rear view mirrors and you’re doing it wrong.
I do this. My husband doesn’t and it is almost painful to watch him try to change lanes as he whips his head around two or three times and strains to look over his shoulder to see if anyone is there, complete with a panicked look on his face as if he is totally going to miss something and someone is going to come careening into him… All I have to do is look in the rear view mirror, look in my side mirror, quick glance over my shoulder to make sure a very small vehicle isn’t there, and change lanes. I can see the cars on either side of me at all times. When the reflection leaves my rear view mirror, it shows up in the side mirror, and when it leaves the side mirror, it is already in my peripheral vision. The hardest thing to get used to when the mirrors are set this way is that you can see things on the side of the road reflected in the mirrors, and if you are used to having the mirrors set the other way, it can be a little distracting until you get used to it. That part is a bit hard to explain, but it’s like having something constantly moving and changing just out of the corner of your eye.
I’m not following what situation this is describing. Even the Society of Automotive Engineers suggests that the outward mirror method greatly reduces blind spots. I wouldn’t say it’s completely eliminated, but it’s quite a bit minimized compared to the traditional method.
Because of this thread, I changed the position of my mirrors when I left work yesterday. I have always positioned my mirrors so that I could see the side of my car without leaning. The new position obviously gave me a much wider field of vision without any negative effects while driving. When I was backing out of my garage this morning, I noticed that my time as a truck driver many years ago has conditioned me to back up using my side mirrors as my only guide. The new position felt like a handicap because it appeared that I was in danger of knocking off my right mirror when in fact I had plenty of clearance. Aside from that, the wider position seems like a big improvement.
Get a bigger mirror. My mirrors catch the side of the vehicle and two lanes over. About the time I can see them when looking out my window they are no longer in the mirror. I use the mirrors to back into places, so seeing the sides to the end is important. I park within 4 inches of a fence all the time this way. I haven’t hit it in all these years.
My mirrors catch a tiny bit of the side of the car even when my blind spots are well-covered. I set them in the parking garage–if I turn around and can’t see the car parked on the other side of the aisle due to the blind spot, I make sure that I can see it in my sideview mirror.
Thank you, now I see what y’all are talking about. I may set mine a bit farther out just to see how it does.
I have a Honda CRV which has great visibitity, so that I can see a lot in the rear-view mirror. I imagine that the vehicle has something to do with how well mirror settings work. I notice in the linked diagram, there isn’t as much showing in the rear view as what I normally can see with mine.
Now I feel all warm and fuzzy for having started this thread.
The funny thing is, I personally haven’t driven a car in three years now. I just happened to be thinking about it the other day.
I didn’t vote, I know what blind spots are, and I know how to turn my head and check them.
The Driver Ed I went through in HS, specifically stated that you should be able to see your own car on the mirror edge to give you a little reference.
Besides, you aren’t covering your blind spot, you are just moving it around. The only way to eliminate your blind spot is to turn your head and look.
I have mine set so I can see a sliver of my truck but I also have the fish-eyes so I can see the blind spot.
As I suggested, why not use the lane striping as your frame of reference instead of the side of your own car? Move the mirror out until the striping is just inside the lower corner of the mirror. That way, you have your frame of reference and a wider field of view… and you should still look over your shoulder regardless, but every little bit helps.
Amateurs, all a youse.
I picked other. I set my side mirrors so that one eye can barely see the edge of my car and the other cannot see my car at all. I always turn my head when changing lanes or backing up. My car has a backing camera, but I only glance at it before turning my head.
I think anyone who thinks their mirror setup is so good they don’t need to turn their head is asking for trouble.
That’s the method I use. My blind spot is on the right is now essentially nothing and on the left is only big enough for a small child on a tricycle.
Poor kid.
