Blind Spots -- (If you don't check your mirrors, you're going to crash…)
In this post I'll try to explore a very important, yet often overlooked part of driving. The importance lies in the fact that, if you don't check your mirrors, you're going to crash.
I'll explain what blind spots are and why they're so dangerous. We will then talk about how to check your mirrors before changing lanes and what you can do if someone else changes lanes without checking their mirrors. Finally, we'll talk about when it's appropriate to change lanes without using your mirrors.
THE IMPORTANCE OF RECOGNIZING BLIND SPOTS
The term "blind spot" was first introduced by a teacher John B. Watson. He used it to describe the area behind a car that the driver could not see, due to the fact that he or she cannot see the other side of a car going in front of them. The other side of this car is called the "opposite blind spot." Regardless of what its name may be, such an area exists and so many people have been involved in accidents due to not knowing that there is such an area and from not checking their mirrors.
We've all heard about blind spots and probably even encountered one or more. A lot of people will tell you that it's better to be safe than sorry and many of us have probably been told this, but it is quite common to see people who do not check their mirrors before changing lanes. This leads to disaster.
WHY ARE BLIND SPOTS SO DANGEROUS?
The reason why blind spots are so dangerous is because they are actually very common in vehicles and they are very easy to miss, if you don't check your mirrors before changing lanes. Cars have blind spots on both sides, which means that one of your car's side mirrors will not show you everything on the other side of your car.
When a vehicle's side mirrors are in the wrong position, such as when you've adjusted your sun visor, you will also not be able to see some of the things behind your car. If you drive with your side mirrors adjusted correctly, you should be able to see everything behind your vehicle. Since there are blind spots on both sides of the car, you can expect to encounter those areas quite frequently and they may involve other vehicles. For example, if there's a truck parked or even sitting on the side of the street in front of your car, you will not be able to see it because it's in a blind spot on that side of your car.
Since those blind spots are common and so dangerous, you should develop a habit for checking your mirrors before you change lanes. To check whether or not your mirrors are correctly adjusted, you can use the foot-down method. For those who may not be aware of this method, it's quite simple; all you need to do is adjust your side mirrors and then lock them in place. Then start walking away from the car until it disappears from view in your mirrors and then start counting how many steps it takes before that happens. If it takes more than 5 steps to disappear, then you will need to adjust your side mirrors properly.
It may be odd at first to think about how you will move your car to adjust your mirrors, but it's simple enough. Once you've adjusted the mirrors and locked them in place, check your mirrors again before taking a different lane. If there is something in the blind spot, you know that it is far away from your car and that it can be seen with the side mirrors. Of course when driving, there will always be something in any blind spot and so if you don't check before changing lanes, it's quite possible that you will end up hitting that "something" when trying to change lanes.
WHEN SHOULD I CHANGE LANES WITHOUT LOOKING AT MIRRORS FIRST?
You should always check your mirrors first before changing lanes and you should never change lanes without checking your side mirrors before doing so. The reason why is because there may be something in the blind spot and if you don't see it, you're going to hit it. Of course, you may be confident that there's nothing in the blind spot, but even then you should use caution and give yourself time to check all the cars in front of you before changing lanes. If there are no cars in front of you and people are stopping or backing up behind them, then you can use your mirror to look behind your vehicle. You can then change lanes when it is safe to do so.
However, this doesn't mean that you need to check your mirrors every single time before changing lanes. If there are no cars in front of you, then there's nothing to worry about and you can freely change lanes without checking your mirrors again. We must be aware of the fact that all it takes is one moment of inattention for a horrible accident to happen. Even if you are very confident that there's nothing behind or in front of you and everyone else seems to be perfectly safe, there's still a chance that something could go wrong and it goes without saying that we should always be careful.
WHEN IS IT APPROPRIATE TO CHANGE LANES WITHOUT LOOKING?
After we've talked about the dangers of changing lanes without looking and what you need to do when you want to change lanes, we will talk about when it's appropriate to change lanes without checking your mirrors.
First of all, there are times when it is not possible to check your mirrors. For example, if you are in a very narrow space or if there is another vehicle in front of your car that is blocking your view. The same goes for if someone else decides to change lanes or merge into another lane without checking their own mirrors first, because they may block your view as well. If this happens while you are behind the other driver and you need to get around them, then there are two options.
The first one is when you need to merge into the line of traffic that is already in motion, but remember that traffic is heavy in the right-hand lanes, so be careful. The second option is to just move forward and wait for a gap in the traffic jam. If a vehicle has changed lanes behind you, then they will probably have merged into another lane ahead of them within a few seconds or moments.
Conclusion
In the end, changing lanes without looking at your mirrors first is just not a good idea. Not only will you cause an accident, but you'll also be changing lanes in a dangerous situation and the consequences could be dire. If you don't like to look at your mirrors before changing lanes, then it's up to everyone else around you to make sure that they don't have anything coming in their way or that there's no car behind you that may not be able to see what's going on in front of them. Of course, if you check your mirrors every time before changing lanes and make sure that nothing gets in front of your vehicle or behind it while doing so, then there is nothing to worry about.