Let me save your life! Change the way you adjust your outside mirrors.

A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to attend a Safe Driving course put on by the Lexus dealer in Saint John. I reported enthusiastically about the experience at one of our FABAC meetings, but I want to review one of the tips that impressed me the most. I was reminded of it today when my daughter mentioned it. Her work requires her to rent vehicles quite regularly and she uses this tip before she even puts the car into drive. She adjusts her outside mirrors properly. Her last rental was a Velositer which has terrible visibility. She said setting the mirrors correctly immediately set her up for safe and pleasant driving, knowing what was happening all around her as she drove. 

How to do it:
To adjust your mirrors properly, put your head against the left side door glass, then adjust your left mirror OUT until you just barely can (or barely can not) see the side of your car. THEN, move your head to the center of your car and adjust your right mirror out until you can barely (or barely can not) see the side of your car. The goal is to set it up so that once a car leaves your REAR view mirror, it appears in your SIDE view mirror - and once it leaves your SIDE view mirror, it appears in your side window/peripheral vision.

How it works:
The old way of adjusting outside mirrors was to set them so you could see along the side of your car. All that does is give you yet another view of what is behind you and NOT what is further out in your blind spot. When I see a vehicle coming up behind me in my lane, I only see it in my inside review mirror. If it passes me on my left, it gradually moves out of view from the inside mirror and starts to appear in the outside mirror. In situations where people are passing on the right and left (I always think of Boston) the right outside mirror only shows what is in that blind spot further to the right.

Try it—you'll like it. Everyone in my family sets their mirrors this way now.

Have you ever seen an F1 racing driver do a shoulder check?! Nope! They use mirrors.

Something to consider: If no one ever passes you, you don't need to adjust your mirrors.

- David