How to set your mirrors

alexthecheese · 12 Dec 2011 at 21:30

At first I thought this made a good point, as I often look into people's rear view mirrors and you can only see their mouths (idiots), but then I read further and it took a step further to consider moving your wing mirrors to overlap slightly with your rear view mirror, but much further out than you'd probably expect.

I'm gonna give it a go when I next get in my car.

http://lifehacker.com/5865502/adjust-your-car-mirrors-property-to-avoid-accidents

ZG002 · 12 Dec 2011 at 21:33

Or.... You could check your blind spot and have no problems. I drive a Van most of the time and manage fine. I like to b-able to see my own van in the mirrors for reversing into tight spots etc.

alexthecheese · 12 Dec 2011 at 21:36

ZG002 said:
Or.... You could check your blind spot and have no problems. I drive a Van most of the time and manage fine. I like to b-able to see my own van in the mirrors for reversing into tight spots etc.

Or... you could make the best use of your mirrors? I've always had a bit of my car in my wing mirrors to make sure I'm not missing anything, but it makes a fair point that you'd be able to see what you'd miss there in your rear view mirrors.

Worth a try, I imagine it might feel a bit weird at first.

beermonster · 12 Dec 2011 at 21:51

I've always had my mirrors adjusted to see the blind spots, surely that's what they are for?

Tomsk · 12 Dec 2011 at 21:57

beermonster said:
I've always had my mirrors adjusted to see the blind spots, surely that's what they are for?

If you can see the blind spots, they're not blind spots.

paradigm · 12 Dec 2011 at 21:57

Alternatively, get some decent glass with a blind spot area (ie convex curved).

Best of both worlds. Get to see the side of your vehicle AND get to see the blind spots.

TripleT · 12 Dec 2011 at 21:58

I don't have blind spots as I use my mirrors and do a double check. It's amazing how many people ONLY use their mirrors when they go to change lanes on the motorway. I'm checking mine all the time, I could change lanes blind as I know what's around me. I don't though as that would be foolish.

This seems pointless to me. It's still going to create a blind spot of sorts, just in a different place. Plus it would take a hell of a long time to get used to it and be distracting at first.

And yes, my mirrors on my 11year old ****box has blind spot area.

Uriel · 12 Dec 2011 at 22:00

Dunno - I vaguely remember being told the mirror on the left was a parking mirror. My driving instructur taught me to have it showing a bit of my own car.

Having said that, I've been using the setup above for a few months. I've got a Mk2 Honda Insight which has some pretty big C pillars. The above mirror set-up does a great job of improving blind-spot visability. I can still see my own car for parking - just lean over a bit.

Overlag · 13 Dec 2011 at 00:34

mine are towards the car, and the ground so i can park as close to the kurb as possible without scraping the alloys... I mean mirrors ain't needed once you get into BMW size cars, so why would a fiesta need them? Cough...

Raymond Lin · 13 Dec 2011 at 01:08

paradigm said:
Alternatively, get some decent glass with a blind spot area (ie convex curved).

Best of both worlds. Get to see the side of your vehicle AND get to see the blind spots.

I thought about getting those, quite handy.

Or alternatively, remember to turn your head.

alexthecheese · 13 Dec 2011 at 08:36

TripleT said:
This seems pointless to me. It's still going to create a blind spot of sorts, just in a different place. Plus it would take a hell of a long time to get used to it and be distracting at first.

The way I see it is that with the way they're doing it, your field of view behind you is greater, so what were blindspots are now visible. Obviously you'll always still have blindspots and need to have a look by moving your head, but it just means there's more to see in the mirrors.

Sin_Chase · 13 Dec 2011 at 09:22

My rear view mirror reflects what is directly behind me, wing mirrors are configured so that I see down the sides of the car behind me.

Blind spots are checked with shoulder checks as needed.

There is no "magic mirror configuration", shoulder check blind spots - End of.

Scania · 13 Dec 2011 at 09:39

Most vehicles have blind spots, whilst having the mirrors set up properly helps, this will never cancel out blind spots, they will still be there.

Imo its more important to be aware of said blind spots and do all that you can to check them prior to changing lane etc.

Lopéz · 13 Dec 2011 at 10:28

Sin_Chase said:
There is no "magic mirror configuration", shoulder check blind spots - End of.

Agreed, looking over your shoulder is called a "lifesaver" by motorcycle instructors, and for very good reason.

ScoobyDoo69 · 13 Dec 2011 at 10:38

I adjust my mirrors all the time, but they always have at least some view of the car in them, especially when parking.

godinman · 13 Dec 2011 at 10:39

I have mine just catching the side of my car, I didn't know people did it any other way.

Maz · 13 Dec 2011 at 10:42

Just go and buy a new Merc with blind spot assist and parktronic, pah who needs mirrors these days?

MeEsH BaKkA · 13 Dec 2011 at 10:47

The only downside to the OP mirror settings is the possibility to miss filtering motorbikes coming up close to the side of your car.

Physically moving your head to check over your shoulder should be better than relying on mirrors only.

alexthecheese · 13 Dec 2011 at 10:51

Sin_Chase said:
My rear view mirror reflects what is directly behind me, wing mirrors are configured so that I see down the sides of the car behind me.

Blind spots are checked with shoulder checks as needed.

There is no "magic mirror configuration", shoulder check blind spots - End of.

How is it a magic mirror configuration?

It just suggests an alternative, perhaps better, way of using your mirrors. Some perhaps just worth considering. :cool:

touch · 13 Dec 2011 at 11:12

alexthecheese said:
I often look into people's rear view mirrors and you can only see their mouths (idiots)

Why would you adjust your rear view mirror to look in the eyes of the driver behind? You want to see where their car is, and about 90% of their car is below their eye level, so it makes sense that you would see the mouth of the driver in front when you look into their mirror rather than their eyes.