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Blind spots, in the context of Driving an Automobile , are the areas of the Road that cannot be seen while looking forward or through either the Rear-view or side mirrors. Blind spots can be eliminated by overlapping side and rear-view mirrors, or checked by turning one's head briefly, or by adding another mirror with a larger Field Of View . Detection of vehicles or other objects in blind spots may also be aided by systems such as Video Camera s or distance sensors, though these are not common in automobiles sold to the general public.


BLIND SPOT AREAS

The areas most commonly referred to as blind spots are the rear quarter blind spots, areas towards the rear of the vehicle on both sides. Vehicles in the adjacent lanes of the road may fall into these blind spots, and a driver may be unable to see them using only the car's mirrors.

Other areas that are sometimes called blind spots are those that are too low to see behind and in front of a vehicle. Also, in cases where side vision is hindered, areas to the left or right can become blind spots as well.


MIRROR SETTINGS

To set mirrors to eliminate all blind spot areas, use the following steps:

  • Start by setting your central (inside) rear-view mirror as you normally would. Then, lean your head all the way to the left so it touches the driver's window. From that position, set your left side-view mirror so you can see the back corner of your car. Now lean the same distance the other way, and set your right side-view mirror the same way.

  • Test your newly adjusted mirrors on a multi-lane road. When a car comes up behind you, you should first see it in your rear-view mirror. But as it passes you (let's say on your left), you should see it move to the left side of your rear-view mirror. And as its left headlight disappears from your rear-view mirror, it should instantly show up in your left side-view mirror. There should be no delay. It should slip from one to the other, so you can always see it.

  • If the passing car becomes invisible at any time during your test, slightly adjust the left-side mirror so that as soon as the passing car's left, front headlight disappears from your rear-view mirror, it appears in your left-side mirror. You might need to make some slight adjustments to your side-view mirrors to make everything line up perfectly. Pulling up next to a line of parked cars, to simulate another lane of traffic next to you, is a good way to do that.

  • Repeat the above adjustment step for right-side mirror. A significant portion of your blind spots have now been eliminated.

  • Driving with the mirrors this way takes some getting used to. You have to learn to rely on your rear-view mirror first. And you'll have to get used to what your side-view mirrors are now looking at.


Please note that the above steps are prohibited by law in the European Union Vehicle Code; See your own country's or State's vehicle code for more information.


EFFECT OF VEHICLE TYPE

Generally speaking, larger vehicles have larger rear blind spots. For example, the blind spot behind a typical Sedan could only hide a small vehicle, while the blind spot of an SUV can hide small children or vehicles, resulting in as many as 50 children being killed by reversing SUV s in the United States each year 1. The blind spot behind Tractor Trailer s can contain entire vehicles, which is one reason many trucks carry warnings not to follow too close, such as "if you can't see my mirrors, I can't see you." This is partly because the driver's position is higher in a tractor-trailer.

Larger vehicles also have much larger front and side blind spots. Tractor-trailers have not only large rear quarter blind spots, but also a large blind spot directly to their left and to their front-right.

There are a number of products available to consumers to deal with the blind spot problem. Convex mirrors, often called "spot mirrors" can bring blind spots into view, but their optical properties impart a great deal of distortion so as to make it difficult to judge distances. Newer technologies using "aspheric" mirrors allows the blind spots to be virtually eliminated while minimizing distortion by enlarging the field of view by 1.4 to 1.7 times.2


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