Eliminating Your Car’s Blind Spots

May 20, 2016

When you’re cruising along the highway, looking to make a lane change, you’ll notice that there is often a blind spot that makes it hard to see vehicles alongside your car. With the right adjustment, you can eliminate this spot and make changing lanes even safer. Many accidents are attributed to the inability to see another vehicle next to yours, located in your blind spot.

Check Out Your Mirrors

The major reason that vehicles have massive blind spots is that many drivers don’t adjust their rearview side mirrors properly. In the past, drivers typically adjusted the mirror to have a direct view of the back corner of the bumper. But unfortunately the bumper doesn’t move, so this just doesn’t make sense as the viewpoint for these useful mirrors.

Point Them Outward

Instead, readjust your mirrors so they point outward. The viewing angle of your side mirrors should overlap the view from the rearview mirror inside your vehicle.

Understand the Learning Curve

It takes time to adjust to readjusted mirrors. The first few times that you glance in the side mirrors, it may surprise you to see a different viewpoint. But with time, you will get used to having a different view from the mirrors, making it easier to change lanes.

With a few simple modifications to your side mirrors, you can eliminate blind spots completely. This can help you prevent accidents because it is much easier to see what is to each side of your vehicle. With the right adjustment, driving becomes even safer.

Image via Flickr by Lisa Cyr