DRIVING CONCERNS Is there a right spot for a blind-spot mirror? (1919 hits)
JASON TCHIR SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL PUBLISHED 2 DAYS AGO UPDATED JANUARY 26, 2020 20 COMMENTS
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Is it always the case that the best place to install a convex blind-spot mirror is the upper left for the left side mirror? – Robert
There’s no clear view on the best spot for blind-spot mirrors. If your mirrors are adjusted properly, you might not need them at all, safety experts say.
“The existing mirrors on most vehicles should be able to cut down on the majority of blind spots,” said Lewis Smith, manager of national projects with the Canada Safety Council (CSC), in an e-mail.
How do you know if your side-view mirrors are adjusted properly? When you look in them while you’re driving, you shouldn’t be able to see the sides of your car. You don’t need to see the sides of your car because the mirrors are there to show you the lanes on either side of you, and not whether you left the gas cap open.
The best way to adjust them? First, park the car. Then lean your head against the left window and adjust the left mirror so you just barely see the left side of your car.
Next, lean to the right, to about the middle of your dash, and adjust the right mirror just until you can just barely see the right side.
If it's done properly, a car passing to your left or right should start to appear in your side view mirror just as it starts to move out of your rear-view mirror.
The idea isn’t new. A 1995 technical paper called this the Blind Zone and Glare Elimination (BGE) setting.
"When driving with the BGE Setting, most drivers initially feel a sense of confusion with the outside mirrors; you are not sure where they are pointed; you miss not seeing the sides of the car and you do not know how to interpret what you see," Platzer wrote. "Don't give up. The confusion will go away."
