4mo ago

How To Adjust Your Mirrors to Avoid Blind Spots

www.caranddriver.com

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The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) published a paper in 1995 suggesting how outside mirrors could be adjusted to eliminate blind spots. This article expands on that paper.

I switched a few months ago. It took a while to get used to it, but I feel like I have a better picture of what's happening around me.

Have you tried this? Did you switch back?

46 comments

Or you could leave the mirrors as they should be, and just turn your head to check your blind spots?
- They are sideview mirrors. Most people do not have them where they should be and instead have three mirrors pointing to the rear, showing basically the same thing. Why turn your head away from the front when a quick look to the mirror is safer?
  
  You don't need to turn your head with the mirrors pointing "to the rear". Just lean forward about 8-12 inches to clear your blind spot.
  Then you don't have to set your mirrors so wide that a pedestrian in a grocery store parking lot can hide from them simply by walking behind your car.
  The arrangement you are advocating should only be used on the highway, not in the city and never when backing.
  
  Incorrect. It is safer to have the mirrors cover a wider range. Just adjust your mirrors correctly to not triple what they show.
  Pointing all mirrors back produces the blind spot we have been discussing this whole time and makes it more unsafe because things can be in that blind spot. A pedestrian behind your car would be seen by the rear view mirror.
  The arrangement you are advocating for is incorrect and should never be used due to it solely limiting view and increasing danger.
  Listen to the engineers.
  
  A pedestrian behind your car would be seen by the rear view mirror.
  That's incorrect.
  If you are parked in a typical parking spot with the mirrors arranged like this, pedestrians standing on the end of the lines marking that space are not visible in either the rear view or the side mirrors. This is the most dangerous place to miss a pedestrian, as they will be hit as soon as you start moving.
  This is the case in every vehicle I have tested this in, with the exception of a convertible that didn't have C-pillars obstructing the rear view.
  This arrangement is not suitable for city driving, specifically because it creates a different blind spot: A blind spot that is much more dangerous for pedestrians, and cannot be overcome by simply leaning forward slightly. A blind spot up close to the rear of the vehicle, where neither the driver nor the pedestrian has time to react to the other's presence.
  This arrangement is only suitable for highway driving, and then only in vehicles with unobstructed rear views. (Trucks, vans, vehicles with 3+ rows of seating should never use this)

46 comments