You need to reflect on the problem. “Most drivers position their side mirrors at an angle that’s too narrow and adds only about 1.2m of vision on each side,” says Dr Michael Flannagan, an associate professor at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute who studies visionimprovement systems for drivers. However, if you adjust your mirrors using these directions, popularised by a mathematics whiz at the Society of Automotive Engineers and approved by Flannagan, you can banish the blind spot in any car you drive.
PASSENGER’S SIDE MIRROR
Lean towards the centre of the car. Set the mirror so you can see only the very edge of your car.
REAR-VIEW MIRROR
Sit up straight with your head positioned as it will be while you’re driving. Adjust the mirror so you can see out of the entire rear window.
DRIVER’S SIDE MIRROR
Rest the side of your head against the driver’s side window. Adjust the mirror so you can just barely see the side of your car.
TEST IT
“Drive in the left lane of a multilane highway,” says Flannagan. “Look in the right-hand mirror and watch as a car approaches you. As it passes, its image should disappear off the outer edge of the mirror just as it enters your peripheral vision.”
With typical mirror adjustments, he says, the car disappears before it enters your peripheral vision – into the blind spot. It’ll
probably take you several drives to become comfortable with this new configuration.
