Proper Mirror Setting

[andrewsms]

@cgh1 is it easy to back-park the car without seeing the back lights of the car..

[cgh1]

@andrewsms I'm not sure I follow your question. Do you mean seeing the back of the car itself in the mirrors, or do you mean without the benefit of the lights mounted in the back of the car; or something else? Can you clarify for me?

Thanks!

[TheVeryLazyGuy]

Thanks for the explanation!

[cgh1]

@joefenstenblow - You bring up a great point! Motorcycles should bee seen as easily as cars with proper mirror setting BUT - we have to be looking for them!! The issue is motorcycles are so much smaller (narrower) than cars, if our situational awareness is not optimal, we can miss that they have entered our area and then be looking for something much larger - so a glance won't get it done. ANYTIME you see a bike rider - amp up the attention and track them until safely gone. Thnx 4 the gr8 ?

[joefenstenblow]

Meant to write, "is" there a loophole...

[joefenstenblow]

Nice explanation! It works. OS there a loophole? How about motorcycles? Do they follow a general pattern of visibility in the blind spot area?

[ivarsrini]

the best video for this topic. thanks!

[cgh1]

@saritajakahere - This is a 'no hate' zone! No hatin' going on here... To your post: If you adjust your mirrors as in the video and you can see a car in the side-view but not the rear-view mirror then they are too close and the lane is NOT clear. When you can see them in both mirrors, you are clear to change lanes. As for backing into a parking place either move your head in the car or move the mirrors in to see close up - but only for backing! Hope this helps! :-)

[saritajakhere]

I cannot gauge the distance between the car I can see in the mirror and my car. Especially at night. I also have trouble backing into a parking space. But my main issue is changing lanes on the freeway. Well... I have started driving recently so don't hate me.

[cgh1]

@TheSohanandrei: You will naturally have a sense of distance and believe it or not do not need to see your own car to get that information. In fact, if you can see your own car, you will create a blind area such that you can't see a car in an adjoining lane at all! Since cars are 6-8' wide, when they are close to you/your back bumper they will still show up in your side-view mirror.

@itscodyw: As stated somewhere below, when backing up in close quarters, one should tow mirrors in as you say.

[TheSohanandrei]

what about having a sense of distance between our car and the cars that surround us (while we travel an intersection where lane markings disappear)???

[itscodyw]

if i do a 3. turn i put my driver side mirror down so i can see the bacj tire so i don't back in to the curb.

[hangiiexp]

This is really helpful, thanks!!

[AIFRANCHISE1]

Hey if im in camero i wanna see what my car looks like...Jk thanks for the advice helped alot.

[cgh1]

@hondadirtbikesrule:

Great question!! When you have no rear window (Lotus Exige comes to mind), tow your mirrors in and likely a little downward for the period when you are reversing allowing you to see close proximity to the vehicle.

Just remember to reset your mirrors to the proper driving position once back under forward motion! Or do what I usually do - get a friend or bystander in the area to guide you out so no adjustment is required for the situation.

Thanks for the great question!!

[hondadirtbikesrule]

what about reversing in a vehicle with no rear windows?

[jensen1971x]

Excellent advice. I have used this technique for many years and actually never have to look over my shoulder to change lanes. I drive in heavy freeway traffic and change lanes alot. Never once have I cut someone off by accident or had anyone honk at me for moving into their space! It also helps to tilt the mirrors way down for additional vision. You really don't need to see the sky or even the upper part of the adjacent vehicle but only the tire/bumper area.

[muhammadusmanch]

highly informative video indeed.

[mariadpinto]

Thank you so much for the information - an "ahha!" moment, it does work, I always hated merging into a right lane, now I feel more sure...

Thanks...

[cgh1]

@mariadpinto: Thanks for posting here and letting me know - Glad I could be of service!!

I always love hearing from those who are now safer! :-)

[cgh1]

@mariadpinto: Thanks for posting and glad I could be of service! I always like hearing from those who are now a bit safer out there!! Thanks again!

[cgh1]

@Marievska: Yeah, it's unfortunate but "driver's education" is somewhat of an oxymoron in this country. They'd just as soon tell you about the rules as teach you how to save your bacon.

[Marievska]

Huh. That's not what my driving school taught me.

[bprizze]

I think this is great. IF your worried about parking all you got to do is put on some convex stick on mirrors put it in the far left or far right I usually put it on the far left. And of course when parking your just slowly moving and can check the convex mirror for reference. Its best to have an accident in the parking lot rather than moving 70mph in a highway.

[foxitores]

Wicked !

[JULESRULES9969]

The proper term is a collision

[DhanShirian]

Thank you sir. hopefully it will help me a lot. God bless you. :) do post few more tips like these for us.

[friendlytaipei]

More people than 4368 need to see this video. Spot on advice. It just took a couple of hours for me to get used to it when I first learned how to do it properly!

[FireStormBaller]

You said there are no accidents, only mistakes, but accidents are mistakes. This is wrong, you still would have some blind spot, and cannot see on the back of the car when backing up clearly.

[quadrupletriple]

You have a silent car!

[WTFGUY956]

This does eliminate your blind spots, but how are you supposed to back up into a parking spot with no reference point? I always hear you're supposed to look over your shoulder when changing lanes but that seems unsafe(alot of things can happen in a split second) Anyone?

[cgh1]

There are 3 ways to back into a parking place when your mirrors are set correctly for normal driving:

1. Move your head so that you can see up-close information relative to your vehicle in your mirrors.

2. Temporarily move your mirrors to better aid you in backing into the space and then reset them to correct for forward driving.

3. Sling an arm turn your head around to see behind you. This one is ok since one shouldn't be going more than 1/2 - 1 MPH to do so.

[cgh1]

As for looking over one's shoulder to change lanes... bad idea. I agree with you WTFGUY956 - a LOT of things can happen in a split second when traveling down a roadway. Best to keep the eyes ahead. Also, when we look over our shoulder, we wind up slightly steering the car in the direction our head is turned.

Great questions and comments all! (Thanks for the kind words!!)

Thanks for visiting!!! Spread the word and let's keep ourselves and others safe out there!

Cheers,

C

[FireStormBaller]

@cgh1 At first that happened to me, when tilting my head left, I steer lift a bit, because of the way our bodies are but you just have to get used to it and not do it, then it should be fine.

[FireStormBaller]

@WTFGUY956 More probabilities of accidents to not look over your shoulder than to look over your shoulder. Not looking over your shoulder when changing lanes is unsafer. (Alot of things can happen ins a split second can be said when not looking over your shoulder, so that fails right there.) It seem unsafe to you, doesn't mean it's unsafe. When compare, looking over your shoulder is the best thing to do, but just tilt your head for a second, not turn your head and stay there for a long time.

[hotshtsr20]

@WTFGUY956 That's why the instructor set the mirrors so that his head was over the console/against the glass.  Just move your head a little when reversing into a spot so you can see your vehicle.

[KNTRIDER]

This is probably the most beneficial video I've ever seen on Youtube. I re-adjusted my mirrors this morning after watching this last night, and I couldn't believe the difference. I'm glad to have learned how to do this properly. Thanks for this video!

[douglyn70]

Excellent video! I've been teaching this technique for 35 years and I do not have any blind spots. I keep telling people to try to hide a small car in my "blind spot" and then I take a picture of it. I don't have a blind spot. They do. They crash to prove it.

You don't adjust your mirrors to your preference. It could be dead wrong. Nobody needs to see their own car in the mirrors. Why is this so hard to grasp?

[djlohan1]

i am very happy to get this very important knowledge..thank you very much for adding..angin thnx to the owner of the video..great job..

[sunnyjason]

this is pretty good. Ive been driving for 4 years, and I think its time to switch over.

[kalmanizer]

I have a 2005 Toyota Solara SLE which probably has one of the worst blind spots of any car or convertible. There are two headrests in the backseat and they both COMPLETELY block the left and right side of the back window. I can ONLY see out of the back center and VERY little of that as well. Will this trick help to TOTALLY eliminate the blind spot? I also bought two little round mirrors and placed it on both side mirrors so that I can see my surroundings better.

Any advice?

Thanks!! :)

[jamesfirst92]

i think my mom got it incorrect aswell. when she's driving on a freeway, a car comes next to us . but she cant see the car with the side mirrors. is that incorrect ?

[fromindia2008]

Thanks a LOT!

I had a habit of seeing my car's side for reference. This blocked the blind spot. I will try to follow your tip.

[AMBBBB89]

Wow, thank you. Very Helpful. I can't believe I never knew this and that mine are set up wrong, right after work I will fix them. What about the rear mirror? Is that one suppose to be straight looking backwards or facing one side more then the other?

[martinthehunk]

my mirrors are set in the way you've described... and for the most part it is "the better way".... please note however that if you set them this way small objects such as bicycles CAN go missing from both side and rear view. this method assumes the object beside you is of certain width... i usually just move my head out just a bit in direction of of my target lane to compensate for small vehicles with the setup above.

[aaronphelps2008]

1) Something the size of a car cannot hide when your mirrors are like this, but unfortunately blind spots small enough in which pedestrians can hide will actually be closer to your vehicle.

2) There are two more dimensions of 'blindspot from inside the car. a) in front and behind front and back bumpers. b) to the sides of the side doors.

[inquisitive871]

Do you have to look behind your shoulders before switching lanes?