I
wrote a column on this topic eight years ago, but some things have changed
since then, so I am reposting it with an added feature I didn't have in 2006; a
video
to illustrate my point. Be sure to
click on it after you read the column.
Some
of the most serious preventable accidents occur because of blind spots while
driving! Now there is a remarkably simple solution discovered by an
engineer named George Platter. He presented his method at the prestigious
Society of Automotive Engineers back in 2006, but many people have either never
seen his presentation, or neglect to try it out.
The National Safety Council tested his theory and discovered, to their amazement, that it works! The method has been fully endorsed by them. Here's how it works.
The National Safety Council tested his theory and discovered, to their amazement, that it works! The method has been fully endorsed by them. Here's how it works.
First,
forget how we learned to adjust our outside mirrors by plopping behind the
steering wheel and turning the mirrors, or having someone else do it from
outside the car, so that we just saw along the sides of our car in the mirrors.
Instead, you want to adjust the driver's side mirror by resting your head against the driver's side window and then turning the mirror so that your view of the side of your car just goes out of sight from that perspective. You might see the rear door handle if you're in a four door car, but nothing else of the side.
Once the driver's side mirror is positioned, lean over toward the center of the vehicle and turn the passenger side mirror so that your view of the side right side also goes away.
Instead, you want to adjust the driver's side mirror by resting your head against the driver's side window and then turning the mirror so that your view of the side of your car just goes out of sight from that perspective. You might see the rear door handle if you're in a four door car, but nothing else of the side.
Once the driver's side mirror is positioned, lean over toward the center of the vehicle and turn the passenger side mirror so that your view of the side right side also goes away.
If
your car is equipped with electric mirror adjustment, you can perform the
adjustments yourself. Otherwise, get a
helper to do the adjustments while you direct them.
That's it. You won't see your own car in either mirror, yet what you will see is far better. Cars behind you show up as usual in the inside rear-view mirror attached to your windshield, but the instant the car leaves your field of vision from the rear-view mirror the outside mirror picks it up. No blind spot; no delays; no wondering where that car that was about to pass you has disappeared to, and no waiting a few seconds for the car that you just saw in your rear-view mirror to show up in your outside mirrors. All three mirrors work in harmony with one another, and the blind spot has been eliminated!
That's it. You won't see your own car in either mirror, yet what you will see is far better. Cars behind you show up as usual in the inside rear-view mirror attached to your windshield, but the instant the car leaves your field of vision from the rear-view mirror the outside mirror picks it up. No blind spot; no delays; no wondering where that car that was about to pass you has disappeared to, and no waiting a few seconds for the car that you just saw in your rear-view mirror to show up in your outside mirrors. All three mirrors work in harmony with one another, and the blind spot has been eliminated!
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