3 ms·
That still doesn't make sense. Why does the rule "always look over your shoulder" work for imperfect humans, but the extremely similar rule "always check your m
by baddox 8y ago
That still doesn't make sense. Why does the rule "always look over your shoulder" work for imperfect humans, but the extremely similar rule "always check your mirrors" doesn't? Both rules obviously work when followed and don't work when not followed.
- jessaustin 8y agoNo rule will prevent all collisions of automobiles driven by humans. There's no free lunch here. If you want to be safer, drive less. TFA is fun, but mostly because it pretends that cyclists don't exist. IRL, there is a trade-off between turned-head blind spot checks and hidden-pedestrian alertness. You weren't talking about that trade-off, though. You were assuming that you always keep perfect track of your mirrors. Safety experts are quite sure that you don't.
- kazinator 8y agoIt is not feasible to be always monitoring the mirrors; that takes attention from what is in front of you. You in fact must not be constantly monitoring the mirrors, but only glancing from time to time.
- baddox 8y agoI would say you are driving with extremely low situational awareness if you are not always aware of cars approaching and overtaking you from behind.
- Dylan16807 8y agoOr you are driving with perfectly normal situational awareness, multiplied by enough hours, and sometimes you hit the low end of the bell curve. Checking is far more reliable.