Side View Mirror Positioning

How To Correctly Position the Side-View Mirrors

I hear people complain about blind spots all the time. There are thousands of accidents every year where someone did not see someone else in their blind spot and then those people just had a very expensive meeting.

I have found that most people adjust the side-view mirror to see the side of their own vehicle. THIS IS NOT WHAT THEY ARE THERE FOR! THE MIRRORS ARE THERE TO SEE OTHERS NOT YOURSELF!!

First make sure that your main rear-view mirror is properly adjusted.

Start by positing the side mirrors on the vertical axis so that a vehicle or other objects will appear in the middle of the mirror.

Now, for the horizontal axis, you will need to position it as follows. I like to start with the left side (driver’s side).

You will want to watch as a vehicle approaches and passes in the lane to your left. As you watch in your main rear-view mirror, just as it goes out of view and into your “blind-spot” It should immediately start to appear in your side-view mirror. As this passing vehicle is continuing to pass, it should start to disappear from the side-view mirror just as its coming into view out of the corner of your eye. This virtually eliminates your “blind-spot” on that side of your vehicle. You might adjust what seems a long way outward and away from seeing any part of the driver’s side of your vehicle. (Remember the mirrors are there to see others not yourself.)

You basically repeat this procedure for the right side (passenger side). In this mirror I find that you will often just barely see the side of the vehicle in the inside edge of the mirror.

Notes: You Should Always Glace Over Your Shoulder Before Changing Lanes.