This may sound obvious but Penske Automotive Group customers ask us for advice on this topic all the time. Nearly every minute of every day, there is an accident on the road as a direct result of a defective standard equipment side view mirrors that harbor a blind spot that prohibits safe lane changes. 160,000 people per year, many of them young and inexperienced drivers, are injured as a direct result of blind spot related accidents. And yet, the problem of these accidents can be easily solved by making just one small modification to your car.
Blind spots are inherent in vehicle design, and manufacturers are studying ways to alleviate these conditions. The blind spots could be eliminated if manufacturers removed the side pillars that hold up the roof and made rearview mirrors that wrapped around a vehicle. While we know automakers are modernizing car technologies, the Penske Team doesn’t see blind spots being completely eliminated in the near future. Therefore, Penske Automotive Group advocates these tips to make big difference to adjust blind spot mirror. Include them in your every day driving routine just like putting on your seatbelt. And please don’t adjust your mirrors while driving this is another source of distraction and can possibly cause an accident.
- Get comfortable – Adjust your seat so that you are high enough to see the road, yet can still reach all of the vehicle’s controls.
- Auto-dimming rearview mirrors – If you drive at night, you’ve undoubtedly experienced it – annoying and often dangerous glare from the headlamps of vehicles traveling behind you. While normal rearview mirrors are equipped with a day-night switch, automatic dimming mirrors darken to reduce glare from the headlamps of vehicles approaching from the rear. Might be worth the investment.
- Exterior rearview mirrors – As for the side view mirror or mirrors, many drivers do not turn their outside mirrors out far enough and simply duplicate the same scene in all three mirrors. Rule of thumb: If you can see even a glimpse of the sides of your car in your outside mirrors they are turned too far inwards.
- Interior rearview mirror – The positioning for the inside rearview mirror is fairly obvious; you should be able to see out of the rear window from the driver’s seat. Be sure the day/night switch found on most rearview mirrors is in the day position during daytime operation. The night setting reduces the headlight glare from cars behind you and helps you see better.
Another helpful hint, remember when passing an eighteen wheeler to change lanes when you can see both of the truck’s headlights in your rearview mirror. If you are following a truck and you can’t see the driver’s face in the truck’s side mirrors, the truck driver can’t see you.
You are now ready to begin your journey safe in the knowledge that you won’t have an accident because of a blind spot.
