Have you ever been specifically instructed as to how you’re supposed to adjust the side-view mirrors of your car? Me neither. For the past 19 years, I’ve set my mirrors to just barely show the side edge of my car. If, when you’re driving behind someone and you can see their face in their side-view mirror, they probably have their mirrors positioned similarly. Well, that’s totally wrong. Who knew?
Apparently, you’re supposed to move the mirrors outward so that there’s little to no overlap between what’s seen in your rear-view mirror and what’s seen in your side mirrors. Doing this should eliminate or lessen the ever dangerous ‘blind spot’ and reduce the need to turn around to look.
Car Side-View Mirrors & Driving Blind Spots Infographic
Image from Car and Driver
Totally makes sense right? I’ve tried it and it does give me a much wider viewing area. (Before changing lanes or turning,I still take a quick peek over-the-shoulder just in case.)
How to Properly Adjust Your Car Side-View Mirrors Tutorial
- Lean all the way to your left, with your head almost touching the window.
- Angle the side-view mirror outwards until your car is almost out of view.
- Lean all the way to your right until your head reaches the center of the car.
- Repeat step 2 but in the opposite direction.
Image compiled from Wiki How
This should pretty much put them in the right position but you can always tweak the mirrors a bit more if needed. It takes some getting used to but you’ll notice the difference almost immediately.
From Car and Driver:
. . . some drivers can’t adjust to not using the outside mirrors to see directly behind the car and miss being able to see their own car in the side mirrors. To them we say, “Have fun filling out those accident reports.”
Hopefully, using this, a lot of accidents will be prevented. Proper adjustment in conjunction with blind spot monitoring and a rear-view camera is a great combo for driving on the offense.
