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> I think a lot of people just forget that there's a big blind spot (...) Honestly, I think most people just don't care. If they cared but forgotten they woul

> I think a lot of people just forget that there's a big blind spot (...) Honestly, I think most people just don't care. If they cared but forgotten they would be doing some other obvious things like slowing down when they drive close to parked cars or setting their mirrors to cover around the car as well as possible. But that is not what I observe. I see almost all drivers to drive fast inches from parked cars and I can see the driver's face in their side mirror when in car behind them -- clear indication that they have side mirrors set to the road behind the car rather than cover huge blind spot on the side of the car.

Toutouxc 5y ago
> side mirrors set to the road behind the car rather than cover huge blind spot on the side of the car I don't know about you, but I have my side mirrors set so I see the side of my car at the inner edge, which is vital when parking, and the shape and geometry of the mirror dictates the FOV I get from it.
- lmilcin 5y ago
  Unfortunately, this is wrong (objectively, not subjectively). Even more unfortunately this is how everybody is taught to drive. I don't know how the exam looks in Czech Republic but here in Poland there is a lot of backing and the driving teachers set mirrors this way to make it easier for learners to pass the exam. Side mirrors are designed to fill the blind spot on the side of your car. If you see the side of your car your side mirror mostly sees the same thing that your rear view mirror. You don't need three mirrors to show you what's behind your car. The correct way to set the side mirror is to imagine the cone of the rear view mirror and the cone of your peripheral vision and point your side mirror directly between those cones. I set my side mirrors so that they point outwards a tiny bit but if I move my head to the side I can see the side of my car. In my car this is enough to close my blind spot but still enough to observe the side of my car while parking. I almost always park with my back first because I don't have stereoscopic vision and it is easier for me to judge distances when parking with back of my car first. And I don't have any problem -- I just move my head to the left or to the right as needed. When you park you can move your car as slow as you need and stop if you need more time. But when you drive at highway speeds you may not have that much time and this is when you need to be able to observe around your car in a split second without moving your head. I noticed when I almost smashed into a car in my blindspot. I started reading and I found that I have been using mirrors the wrong way entire time. Here, I found an example link for you. https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/lskpl/lpt_how_to_adjust_car_mirrors_to_remove_the_blind/ https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/lskpl/lpt_how_... I can tell you it takes a little bit of effort to adjust to new mirror position. You can get used to moving your head during parking (looks silly but you can park just fine). But you will thank me the first time you merge, especially at an angle and see how easy it is since you are seeing EVERYTHING with your mirrors and your peripheral vision, without needing to move your head.
  - Dylan16807 5y ago
    Those figures at the top show a view pointed much more at the car than a sliver. I'm not sure how much I can interpret from this beyond the general idea. What are the actual viewing angles in a real car? Also why not make the mirrors capture a slightly wider field so you can have the best of both...?
    - lmilcin 5y ago
      Thanks to another commenter I found better pic of correct mirror placement: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/1415402d1442394615-eliminating-blind-spots-how-correctly-adjust-mirrors-orvm-correct.jpg https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/14154... The rear and side mirrors overlap but only further behind the car and side mirrors don't show the road far behind you at all. > Also why not make the mirrors capture a slightly wider field so you can have the best of both...? Probably because it would require either much larger mirrors or much more curved (and thus making things even smaller than they already are). There are cars with much larger mirrors. If you notice, in most countries cars/trucks that don't have rear window (and thus no rear view mirror) are required to have larger side mirrors that can also cover the road behind the truck. Though trucks have other visibility problems that come mostly from the fact of just how high the driver sits.
      - Dylan16807 5y ago
        If that's the correct mirror placement, then adjusting it to barely see your own car is less than five degrees off. If that's a dealbreaker than I'd say it's definitely worth the slight mirror size increase or slight magnification change to make the field of view five degrees wider.
        lmilcin 5y ago
        Do following exercise. Park parallel to a road with slow traffic. Observe cars coming from behind you as they transition from rear view mirror to side mirror to your peripheral vision. Make your own decision on what is right or not (it is your safety anyway). I prefer to have two small blind spots that can't fit a cyclist in either of them than one larger that can fit a small car.
- gregors 5y ago
  If you can see your car at the inner edge you have the mirror set incorrectly. https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15131074/how-to-adjust-your-mirrors-to-avoid-blind-spots/ https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15131074/how-to-adjus... In my automobiles even with side mirrors set correctly there is still a small blind spot but it's much much less. I thoroughly suggest you try this technique. For parking you can easily move your head over to adjust the angle the mirror and once again see behind for backing up.
BoorishBears 5y ago
You altered the meaning of their statement by cutting off the defining portion of it so you could go off about something completely different, they're clearly talking about the blind spot formed by the A-pillar, which isn't really a matter of "caring". And to top it off your point doesn't make sense... > clear indication that they have side mirrors set to the road behind the car rather than cover huge blind spot on the side of the car. a) Your mirrors are supposed to be pointed at the road behind you, not showing you the side of your car. b) How are you able to tell what their mirrors are pointed at from the outside? Every car has different mounting points for the mirrors, the magnification and FOV can vary, the person's seating position can significantly vary, etc.
- lmilcin 5y ago
  Yes, I am still talk about that blind spot. What I mean is that people don't care for other blind spots or risk of kids running from behind a car. It means they haven't "forgot" about the A-pillar blind spot. They just don't care. > a) Your mirrors are supposed to be pointed at the road behind you, not showing you the side of your car. Now, they do not. The rear view mirror is supposed to be pointed at the road behind you. Side mirrors serve vital function of filling your blindspot formed between the cone of rear view mirror and your peripheral vision. This is different in a truck. In a truck you don't have rear view mirror and so your side mirrors actually need to point at the road behind. But you will also notice they are much larger for that reason. Here in Poland it is illegal to drive your car with the vision through the rear view mirror obstructed. That only makes sense if the side mirrors are not supposed to cover the road behind you. > b) How are you able to tell what their mirrors are pointed at from the outside? How to tell without offending you... it is called physics. The mirror works reversibly. If I can see their face in their mirror it means they can see my face in the mirror -- a face in the car directly behind their car.
  - BoorishBears 5y ago
    > Here in Poland it is illegal to drive your car with the vision from the rear view mirror obstructed. That only makes sense if the side mirrors are not supposed to cover same angles as rear view mirror. It's physically impossible for your side mirrors to show exactly what your rear view mirror does (since there's a whole car in the way...), so no matter how your side mirrors are adjusted, your rear view mirror is serving a function and shouldn't be obscured. And the mirrors work the opposite of how you think: If you point your side mirrors and your rear mirror at the road behind you, they will show you different views, not the same: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/1415402d1442394615t-eliminating-blind-spots-how-correctly-adjust-mirrors-orvm-correct.jpg https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/14154... If you point your side mirror so they show you the side of your car, they will show you an overlapping view of what your rear view mirror does on top of significantly reducing what you see on either side of your car: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/1415401d1442394615t-eliminating-blind-spots-how-correctly-adjust-mirrors-orvm-incorrect.jpg https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/14154... In the EU the driver's side mirror is allowed to be convex which is all the more reason to not waste a large portion of the view on looking at the side of your car. There should be just barely any of your car visible in your driver side mirror
moistly 5y ago
How To Set Your Side Mirrors: 1. Put your head against the side window. 2. Adjust the mirror so that you can (just barely) not see the side of your car. 3. Put your head above the centre console. 4. Ditto for the right mirror. This is how the mirrors are designed to function, right from their very invention. You will have no/minimal blind spots. Yes, you can not see your car in the mirrors. That is okay: you do not need to see your own car, you need to see other cars.
- lmilcin 5y ago
  That is exactly the procedure I am using.

Toutouxc 5y ago

> side mirrors set to the road behind the car rather than cover huge blind spot on the side of the car I don't know about you, but I have my side mirrors set so I see the side of my car at the inner edge, which is vital when parking, and the shape and geometry of the mirror dictates the FOV I get from it.

lmilcin 5y ago
Unfortunately, this is wrong (objectively, not subjectively). Even more unfortunately this is how everybody is taught to drive. I don't know how the exam looks in Czech Republic but here in Poland there is a lot of backing and the driving teachers set mirrors this way to make it easier for learners to pass the exam. Side mirrors are designed to fill the blind spot on the side of your car. If you see the side of your car your side mirror mostly sees the same thing that your rear view mirror. You don't need three mirrors to show you what's behind your car. The correct way to set the side mirror is to imagine the cone of the rear view mirror and the cone of your peripheral vision and point your side mirror directly between those cones. I set my side mirrors so that they point outwards a tiny bit but if I move my head to the side I can see the side of my car. In my car this is enough to close my blind spot but still enough to observe the side of my car while parking. I almost always park with my back first because I don't have stereoscopic vision and it is easier for me to judge distances when parking with back of my car first. And I don't have any problem -- I just move my head to the left or to the right as needed. When you park you can move your car as slow as you need and stop if you need more time. But when you drive at highway speeds you may not have that much time and this is when you need to be able to observe around your car in a split second without moving your head. I noticed when I almost smashed into a car in my blindspot. I started reading and I found that I have been using mirrors the wrong way entire time. Here, I found an example link for you. https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/lskpl/lpt_how_to_adjust_car_mirrors_to_remove_the_blind/ https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/lskpl/lpt_how_... I can tell you it takes a little bit of effort to adjust to new mirror position. You can get used to moving your head during parking (looks silly but you can park just fine). But you will thank me the first time you merge, especially at an angle and see how easy it is since you are seeing EVERYTHING with your mirrors and your peripheral vision, without needing to move your head.
- Dylan16807 5y ago
  Those figures at the top show a view pointed much more at the car than a sliver. I'm not sure how much I can interpret from this beyond the general idea. What are the actual viewing angles in a real car? Also why not make the mirrors capture a slightly wider field so you can have the best of both...?
  - lmilcin 5y ago
    Thanks to another commenter I found better pic of correct mirror placement: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/1415402d1442394615-eliminating-blind-spots-how-correctly-adjust-mirrors-orvm-correct.jpg https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/14154... The rear and side mirrors overlap but only further behind the car and side mirrors don't show the road far behind you at all. > Also why not make the mirrors capture a slightly wider field so you can have the best of both...? Probably because it would require either much larger mirrors or much more curved (and thus making things even smaller than they already are). There are cars with much larger mirrors. If you notice, in most countries cars/trucks that don't have rear window (and thus no rear view mirror) are required to have larger side mirrors that can also cover the road behind the truck. Though trucks have other visibility problems that come mostly from the fact of just how high the driver sits.
    - Dylan16807 5y ago
      If that's the correct mirror placement, then adjusting it to barely see your own car is less than five degrees off. If that's a dealbreaker than I'd say it's definitely worth the slight mirror size increase or slight magnification change to make the field of view five degrees wider.
      - lmilcin 5y ago
        Do following exercise. Park parallel to a road with slow traffic. Observe cars coming from behind you as they transition from rear view mirror to side mirror to your peripheral vision. Make your own decision on what is right or not (it is your safety anyway). I prefer to have two small blind spots that can't fit a cyclist in either of them than one larger that can fit a small car.
gregors 5y ago
If you can see your car at the inner edge you have the mirror set incorrectly. https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15131074/how-to-adjust-your-mirrors-to-avoid-blind-spots/ https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15131074/how-to-adjus... In my automobiles even with side mirrors set correctly there is still a small blind spot but it's much much less. I thoroughly suggest you try this technique. For parking you can easily move your head over to adjust the angle the mirror and once again see behind for backing up.

BoorishBears 5y ago

You altered the meaning of their statement by cutting off the defining portion of it so you could go off about something completely different, they're clearly talking about the blind spot formed by the A-pillar, which isn't really a matter of "caring". And to top it off your point doesn't make sense... > clear indication that they have side mirrors set to the road behind the car rather than cover huge blind spot on the side of the car. a) Your mirrors are supposed to be pointed at the road behind you, not showing you the side of your car. b) How are you able to tell what their mirrors are pointed at from the outside? Every car has different mounting points for the mirrors, the magnification and FOV can vary, the person's seating position can significantly vary, etc.

lmilcin 5y ago
Yes, I am still talk about that blind spot. What I mean is that people don't care for other blind spots or risk of kids running from behind a car. It means they haven't "forgot" about the A-pillar blind spot. They just don't care. > a) Your mirrors are supposed to be pointed at the road behind you, not showing you the side of your car. Now, they do not. The rear view mirror is supposed to be pointed at the road behind you. Side mirrors serve vital function of filling your blindspot formed between the cone of rear view mirror and your peripheral vision. This is different in a truck. In a truck you don't have rear view mirror and so your side mirrors actually need to point at the road behind. But you will also notice they are much larger for that reason. Here in Poland it is illegal to drive your car with the vision through the rear view mirror obstructed. That only makes sense if the side mirrors are not supposed to cover the road behind you. > b) How are you able to tell what their mirrors are pointed at from the outside? How to tell without offending you... it is called physics. The mirror works reversibly. If I can see their face in their mirror it means they can see my face in the mirror -- a face in the car directly behind their car.
- BoorishBears 5y ago
  > Here in Poland it is illegal to drive your car with the vision from the rear view mirror obstructed. That only makes sense if the side mirrors are not supposed to cover same angles as rear view mirror. It's physically impossible for your side mirrors to show exactly what your rear view mirror does (since there's a whole car in the way...), so no matter how your side mirrors are adjusted, your rear view mirror is serving a function and shouldn't be obscured. And the mirrors work the opposite of how you think: If you point your side mirrors and your rear mirror at the road behind you, they will show you different views, not the same: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/1415402d1442394615t-eliminating-blind-spots-how-correctly-adjust-mirrors-orvm-correct.jpg https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/14154... If you point your side mirror so they show you the side of your car, they will show you an overlapping view of what your rear view mirror does on top of significantly reducing what you see on either side of your car: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/1415401d1442394615t-eliminating-blind-spots-how-correctly-adjust-mirrors-orvm-incorrect.jpg https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/road-safety/14154... In the EU the driver's side mirror is allowed to be convex which is all the more reason to not waste a large portion of the view on looking at the side of your car. There should be just barely any of your car visible in your driver side mirror

moistly 5y ago

How To Set Your Side Mirrors: 1. Put your head against the side window. 2. Adjust the mirror so that you can (just barely) not see the side of your car. 3. Put your head above the centre console. 4. Ditto for the right mirror. This is how the mirrors are designed to function, right from their very invention. You will have no/minimal blind spots. Yes, you can not see your car in the mirrors. That is okay: you do not need to see your own car, you need to see other cars.

lmilcin 5y ago
That is exactly the procedure I am using.