During your driving lessons, it is highly likely that your instructor placed emphasis on using your mirrors. During your test, the examiner will also have been paying close attention to how you utilized them. This is not for no reason, as visibility is one of the key aspects of driver safety.
All vehicles have blind spots and your mirrors provide an opportunity to minimize the impacts of these. Essentially, blind spots are areas surrounding the vehicle that you cannot see. While mirrors cannot eliminate blind spots completely, they can reduce them significantly when set at the optimal angles. So, how do you go about ensuring that your mirrors are set to the most beneficial position?
Here’s what you have to consider when setting your mirrors
Many modern vehicles have camera technology installed so that blind spots are reduced. Nonetheless, there are still a lot of cars out there that rely on the manual use of side-view and rearview mirrors.
Make adjustments before you set off
You can gain an indication of how your mirrors are working before embarking on your journey. If you are parked on the side of the road, then vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians will still be passing you by. In a stationary position, you can gauge whether or not your mirrors are providing you with maximum visibility. If not, you can make adjustments before setting off.
Calibrating your mirrors
The rearview mirror is intended to give you an idea of what is going on behind your vehicle. Ideally, you want your rearview mirror to reflect the entirety of your back window. Depending on your height, you may need to adjust the mirror vertically so that blind spots are minimized.
One common mistake that drivers make with their side-view mirrors is to make them focus on the side portions of the vehicle. This doesn’t allow you to fully see what is going on at the side of your car. Generally, it is better to position your side-view mirrors so that only a tiny portion of the side of your vehicle is visible. The focus should be on what is going on around the side of your vehicle, which means that the side of your car should only just come into sight.
Visibility is key to staying safe on the roads and your mirrors play a pivotal role in this. If you have been hurt in a road traffic collision, make sure you are fully aware of your legal rights in Wisconsin.
