How to Properly Set Your Side Mirrors
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- Опубликовано: 19 фев 2017
- Setting your car’s mirrors properly will ensure that you can always see what's behind your car, even if you don’t have a high-tech blind spot monitoring system or one of the new full-time rearview cameras. Cars.com’s Joe Wiesenfelder provides step-by-step instructions to make sure you’re seeing all there is to see when driving.
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I adjusted my mirrors this way and now the rear of my car ran away. Thanks a lot.
Looks like you're floating in traffic
I spit out my drink
Still laughing and u r absolutely correct.
@@julesbabauta fr i was drinking a mango juice.. now hv to clean them
Lol your rear transcended
There’s one very important thing that I wished he touched on: the purpose of side mirrors is to see what your rear view mirror cannot see. To set them properly and to ensure you don’t create 2 blind spots by setting them too far, set them to where there is just a little bit of overlap with the rear view mirror for each side view mirror.
That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for pointing this out. I'll experiment with this
This is wat i came here for
Thank you!
Very true
THANK YOU
I'm still worried the the rear of my car will drop off if I don't keep an eye on it.
Lmaooooo
This clarified a lot of my confusion on the road..i was setting the mirrors wrong and used to get confused as through the mirrors i kept seeing lanes behind me (same lane as my car) and never could judge which one is where i am going to move into. This video solved that for me.. adjusting mirrors is the most important and my instructors never taught the right position.. they always adjust your mirror but doesnt give tell you how.. thanks a ton for this video.
i have a drivers test tomorrow and i just got so paranoid so here i am
update: i passed driving first time and hit the cone FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER on maneuverability on the test. passed it second time tho shxjxj
Cora G nice
Me Too ... drivers test is tomorrow and I’m freaking out 😭😭
@@melyvalencia3463 did you pass?
@@callumde-gruchy6269 I passed it my second time !
I used this video and had to come back and say a big ‘Thank You’!!! I had been concerned about my side mirrors and didn’t feel comfortable changing lanes. Yesterday I changed lanes and almost ran a man off the road. I searched RUclips and found this video. I am sooo confident now. I see everything I need to see! Thanks again!!❤️
LMAO same!!
FYI, you need more than your side views to change lanes. You need to see the front of the car you are moving in front of in your _center_ mirror to ensure you have enough space. If it's in the side mirror, but not in the center mirror, then it is too close to change lanes in front of.
@@melinuxf00l or get one of those frameless spot mirrors, look over your shoulder
Must be a new driver, but no shame in that! You're doing the right by showing you're being concerned with safety, kiddo.
A couple of hints:
Don't use your phone while driving unless you really have to. It is the leading cause of accidents.
ALWAYS check your blind spot by looking over your shoulder, even if you know there aren't any cars close to you. The reason for this is to develop muscle memory before checking lanes. This will ensure you never run into someone one day, because it will happen.
No need to drive over the limit*, if you're in no rush to get somewhere.
*actually driver at the same speed of flow of traffic, even if that means driving 5 to 10 miles over the limit. The reason for this is, driving slower than traffic is also another cause of accidents, believe it or not.
@@mel577 Slower than the flow of traffic is the worst, especially drivers entering the highway going way too slow. That drives me nuts for sure. Sync up your speed with the flow and merge as soon as possible. Slow entering drivers tend to ride out the entrance lane to the bitter end, still going too slow when they finally merge. That can cause all matter of accidents.
Been doing this around 15 years or so. What might be even easier an explaination on how to set the sideviews out is to first adjust your rearview to see the entire back window. Then tilt the sideviews out so as soon as the rearview field ends your sideviews begin; if you set them out a little further you run the risk of having small blinds between the rear and sideviews for cyclists or pedestrians, which is why I prefer to leave no gap at all. Anyway, you can test your setup with objects in your background view to be sure you're catching everything. The guy in this video is right though, if you've done this right then as soon as the cars disappear from your sideview mirrors (as they're begining to overtake your position on the sides) you should be able to see their front bumper come into your side windows, or peripheral view. But be mindful of overlapping the mirror fields as well, as conversely they can cause a small blind directly on the side of your vehicle.
This is super helpful, tysm!
This! I’ve used this method for years now!
I been doing it since I started driving at 19. Nobody teach me, it just made sense to me to do it like that! 😁 🤓
Exactly, this is the way I adjust my rear and side mirror.
You are exactly right, I drove professionally for 15 years at night, your rear virmew and side mirrors should work together from the back view to the car pulling up beside you to you looking over to the side and see the car appearing in the driver window
This is the correct way to adjust those especially side mirrors. I'm happy that I've been setting up like this for quite a while.
0:43 “you see what’s been missing, another car” 🤣🤣🤣 this popped up in my recommendations after watching chrisfix videos. Glad I watched it lol
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU You did a brief EXCELLENT instruction on this. You placed the side/rear cars in the perfect spot, and moved the side mirrors to the absolute correct angles. YOU NAILED IT! I am a Driver's Ed Teacher for 19 years, and this is exactly what the TX Ed. Agency taught us to begin teaching this in 2003 (kind of a DUH moment eh!) Now I can share this with my parents!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU .
I learned how to drive in 1994 and I was taught to show the side of your car in the side mirror. I have been doing it wrong all these years. I actually just started looking at these videos because my new car does not have BSM. My last two cars did and I feel lost without it.
Totally worked and helped me teach my daughter. I’ve been driving almost 30 years. Big change. Thanks.
Great to hear!
I saw this tip about 15 years ago on a local tv newscast (a car segment). I had been setting my mirrors down the side. Afterwards, it took a few days to get used to it, but it made it unnecessary to swivel my head around. Since then I can see with my peripheral vision (especially at night) when a car comes up on my rear quarter panel. And like the presenter said, as soon as it leaves the mirror, the car is coming into my side window. This actually does shrink the blind spots way down when done properly.
Omg, Now lane changing wont be so stressful for me. I had my mirrors too inwards like that and looking into the side mirrors stress me out, coz too much is going on in the view lol. thank you for this video! haha
Almost got in a car accident bc this mirror bullshit
Best mirror adjustment video ever!
Thank you for this video I recently started driving and the way I'm driving teacher told me how to adjust my mirror it was a little uncomfortable for me because I couldn't really see what I needed to and then I used this method and it worked really great
I learn to drive (I'm at 42 hours) and today I had a very dangerous situation. I drove on a dual carriageway and we were behind a pretty slow lorry. I wanted to change lane and the traffic was high. I saw a blue car behind me, that was a little bit faster than me but I saw behind the blue care came a silver car and there is a big gap and the silver car is very far. I thought I will change lane after the blue car.
I saw the side mirror again and the blue car disappeared. I signaled to the right and if my instructor doesn't yell at me then I do an accident, because the blue car was beside me.
Later we talked about this situation and I realised that blue car really disappeared for few second.
I thought about it later and I realised I set my side mirrors to wrong position every time and because of it the blind spot is very big. I started to search on the RUclips and I found this video (and much more) and I learned from it how can I set my side mirrors to the correct position. Thanks very much.
Low-key glad you're safe man I just fixed mines too
great read from the instructor !
Your instructor, should have told you to check over your shoulder before changing lanes. Don't rely on mirrors or tech. You were in on a dual carriage way, however, imagines if you one a motorway or one of those widened ones where you have 4 lanes.
You need to keep track of where everyone is.
Also, I don't agree with this RUclipsr's video adjustment. There are a lot of cyclist and motorbike and you might just miss them. Sometimes they hang over your blind spot.
Glad I found this video. My fiance adjusts her mirrors so she "sees just the back of her car" but I have told her over and over, in driving school you're supposed to see blindspots not your back.
As they told me "your side mirrors are not an extension of your rear view mirror" and it's true. They have wide mirrors for that.
I adjust my mirrors so I can see the lane next to me, and then out of the corners of my eye the cars next to me. Never once have I had to "shoulder check" because as driving school told me again, it takes just a split second for someone to slam their brakes or someone to cut you off.
So now I can show her this video.
I've been teaching my students this correct mirror adjustment method for years, with only one change. I teach my students that even if they like birds, airplanes and sky, that is NOT what their side mirrors are for. Please get it down to where the action is. You want to see traffic only. Maximize your field of view.
so this video seems to show it also lets u see the blind spot since once it disappears it's next to your window?
Will this adjustment work with reversing?? Especially in the yard! My instructor did not agree with this setting of the side mirror and I could not see the poles at the right time.
@@shathaomar1516 The method shown in the video still works while reversing. You only need to lean toward the mirror.
I like to adjust the side mirrors so they are level with the center mirror. It's less confusing than seeing a normal view of a car behind you changing into a ground view of them.
My instructor told me just to look for the handle in the back
I love this simple and easy to follow advice!
Great channel!
I don't have a family always willing to give simple advice like this
Thanks, guys!
My issue is seeing parking lines and curbs when reversing
same
This!
This is the reason l came here too
This is how I set mine up. Learned it from Car Talk. It really works.
Me too. Had them positioned incorrectly for years.
Learned it from Car talk years ago as well. It's very hard to convince others that this way is safer. People find comfort in seeing the Sides of their car for some reason.
Best way is to lean left until touching the closed driver's side window, then set the left side mirror to show a sliver of car. Then lean right, centering your head over the center console (centerline) of the car, then set your right side mirror to show only a sliver of car. Just two little tricks to make this easier.
👍
I've always adjusted the mirrors so that I can see the cars behind me. Now I know the right way to do it, thanks!
koro sensei can't drive
Isn't that what the rear view mirror is for tho? That's pretty much common sense I would think.
@@rev9fan1 Yeah, I just did what my family always does. That's why it's good to learn from others too.
@@chapstickwarrior9277 my family does the same
Great way! 👍 thank you so much. You are a professor.
Well cheese and bread, I've been doing it wrong all along.
From 1960-2003 THEY TAUGHT US WRONG. You are good now!
Finally, someone gets it. I've been doing this since I started driving.
thanks for this, I’m a new driver and my mirrors weren’t adjusted properly so I had a hard time merging
Great video
Thanks was very helpful.
I've done this for years. And I have driven cars that are supposed to have the worst 'blind spots': Camaro and Corvette. If you adjust the mirrors this way, there are no blind spots! If you can't see it in a mirror, then it is in my peripheral vision. I don't even need to look back over my shoulder to change lanes.
ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!
THAT'S WHAT I DID IN MY CAR SIDE MIRROR.
Very helpful thank you
I've been driving for years with my side merrier show rear of the car till my dad told me today and I doubled checked here and he is right thanks daddy 😘
works and looks wonderful
Thanks, this is so useful, I was using a more inward angle and had a very dangerous situations due to the blind spot
that's great for side-to-side, what about verticle positioning ?
Finally someone gets it right...mostly. For the left put your head against the window and adjust as mentioned. For the right put your head over the console while adjusting the mirror.
Great video.
Very true. I’ll keep on having a tiny view of the sides of my car just to have a little reference. It always helps.
Jake N. So true. I can see from both sides those cars passing-by my side so I can decide to change lane or not. Seeing blind spot through your side mirrors then shoulder check there after.
Quick, simple, easy - love it!
OMG!!! I literally have had 2 accidents due to adjusting my mirrors the incorrect way! I had no idea!!!
I personally like to go on relatively flat ground and pick some prominent landmarks to piece together with my mirrors. I tried the method in this video and still had gaps between the mirrors.
TOP MARKS MATE 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
I've always been bad at backing up until it occurred to me that the side mirrors should be more towards the right/left respectively. thanks for the tip.
Nice technical method
Will this work in the driving school?
Which cars have full time rear view cameras? Can you share the list? Also will it also have a blind spot?
Thanks!
can someone suggest a video that shows how to do it with the mirror button thing
What about vertically adjusting your side mirrors. How much are you supposed to adjust it vertically
I never thought I'd listen to these tutorials. Seriously, I'm now driving and trying to get a drivers license for the first time.
Awesome! Best of luck to you!
Hey boy you did great
Great tip. It's true that you want to see as much as possible on the side and behind, but like it's shown on the video, you NEED to see a little bit of the car body for your mind to make sense of the image. If the mirror image is just a vast expanse of space behind you, you are in fact seeing "more", but your brain will have a hard time "using" that information because it can't relate it to the position of your car and how your car relate to other objects and events on the road.
Omg this really works for me thanks for the tip no need sticking blind spot mirrors 🙏
This meathod doesn't show blind spot.
Abdul Rahman then what is the right method please tell
@@sureshvadgama2838 Adjust them like the video shows but you'll need to shoulder check to see your blind spot. If being able to see your blind spot all the time is so important then just get blind spot mirrors.
@@kutter_ttl6786 shoulder check is very difficult while driving. It may cause steering deviate slightly and may cause accident like situation sometime
Suresh Vadgama get used to it, practice
what about up and down adjustments
You really learn these techniques in EVOC, (Emergency Vehicles Operation Certification), where direct rear view is likely non existent.
Think of fire trucks, ambulance, rescue vehicles.
Leaning toward the needed mirror, increases field of view, removing/lowering blind spot dangers.
A high driving horizon warns of upcoming dangers early, giving time to react prudently, and helps you maintain center lane position.
Practice in an empty parking lot, exit vehicle, and check your accuracy.
You will soon learn where your vehicle actually is at all times.
The result is, you become a safer, more proficient operator.
Good video!
Awesome advice, thank you
I really felt like it would vanish with me inside😂😂😂😂.
Thank you
in heavy traffic, you need this if you want to change line, if car you don't see in the rear mirror it could be in on your side and you don't see it, and if make a line change the collision can happened, you can see a car next to you in the mirror if to adjust like this , first probably don't like it but later will, also turn your head to double check
No need to look over your shoulder in moving traffic. But you should always do it when turning left or right to double-check for pedestrians and cyclists.
Thank you 🙏.
I did set up my wing mirrors like this, but when the instructor started teaching me reversing and parking did not like this setting.!!
Just lean toward your mirror for parking maneuvers.
Anyone have it where you have to position the side mirrors with your finger by pushing the mirror?
I agree
How did you do that
I have been adjusting my side mirrors wrong for over 20 years :P
I agree with you.
Try this in south asian countries where small motorbikes are rampant, changing lanes haphazardly, squeezing through any gaps possible and see how many of them you manage to hit or kill before deciding it's better to actually set the side mirror to see your side and rear view, not just the side view. Better for parking and distance/ speed estimation of the incoming side vehicle as well. As for the blind spot created, well, you can glance over your shoulder easily enough or buy the cheap ass blind spot mirror.
Sweetie this video was clearly made for 1st world country drivers where most people try to follow the traffic laws....
Thanks bro
The side mirrors need to set even farther out than what's said in this video, that the viewing angle of the side mirrors just overlaps that of the cabin’s rearview mirror. This is a recommendation according to Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)'s 1995 paper.
This is how I set my mirrors, for exactly same reasons mentioned here.
Thank you. I just learned I have never set my side mirrors in the correct position.
That's how I park my car keeping side mirror to widest coz rear view mirror shows enough of the end of tail lights, side mirror should show at least 2-3 side lanes. The only drawback (not really) when reversing especially in narrow space during parking you need to readjust till front handle doors are visible for both
Going to fix my left side view mirror I can't see any cars in coming on my left side.
thanks a lot.
What would you say to a lady who was driving with her right side mirror folded?
Literally, FOLDED CLOSED.
On stop light, I reached my hand out from my bike and opened it up.
How do you not realize that your mirror is folded the moment you sit on driver's seat?
Most Americans don't check mirrors. And it's very sad...
Mahin 😂😂
alfa-psi 😂😂🙏🏻
Dude what if that was an electrically folding mirror? 😓
@@mankar29 It would've folded out automatically when she started driving. Unless it's broken, in which case she shouldn't be on the road.
Mahin because there driving tests are too easy
well done
Does it make a difference if you are short. I'm being serious. I have a really hard time with blind spots. I assume it's based on individual's height view?
You might want to aim them up a bit? I don't really understand what your concern is.
You could try adjusting the seat itself to be more up
Now I see that my seating is the problem every time I would set my mirrors before I set my seat and I would realize once I start driving that my side mirrors are whack i would either see just my car or see way to far out. Now i think it’s when I drive I sit differently then I do when I’m just sitting in the car not doing anything I feel a little dumb now smh.
Also buy blind spot mirrors and stick them on the outside bottom of each mirror. $1 each.
No such thing as a blind spot in a vehicle if the mirrors are adjusted so you dont see the rear of your car...
I did this in my town and every mom is like, “why can’t I see his face.”
How do you tell how far or close a car away is with this positioning when using the side view mirror
Practise
If you see your car completely in the side mirror, it means it's probably a safe gap to switch lanes(depending on the size: the smaller the further away). If you don't see it completely or is very close, it will eventually appear next to you, so it's not a proper time.
My driving school didn’t tell me anything about this, tbh, some had conflicting instructions with other instructors.
I should’ve went to another driving school.
lol same. I went to driving school back in 2017 so hopefully they’ve changed since then, but they didn’t teach me this, didn’t practice reverse driving, and didn’t even mention parallel parking. I was happy about that back then but now it makes me anxious
@@blazereho811
Wow, the licensing office used to also test us on parallel parking,
if you failed that, you failed the whole test !!
I understand now but im still worried about not being able to see the back of my car 😂
Thanks
i almost hit a Mercedes while changing lane because i had mirror seeing the side of my car lol thanks for this tip
Been scraping my right rear wheel rim countless of times due to the fact that I can’t see the curb.
David Gruen , same here
David Gruen tilt the angle of the side view mirror down till you can see the curb.
You need to become a better driver. Fast drivers don't look at their side mirrors to see where the car is in relation to the curb. They feel it by the way the car responds to depressions in the road.
FlameHazeist true af
The side view mirrors shouldn't see sky, adjust them so the top of the side view mirrors align with the roof of cars behind you, but in the left or right lanes, not cars DIRECTLY behind, then when you are backing up, all you have to do is sit up high in your seat, and you will see the curb.
Thanks I'm watching this and adjusting my mirrors as I'm driving!
.
.
Jk
Ok but how do you align the back of the car if you can't see it on the side mirrors when reversing into a tight space or between two cars for example ?
Do a test, park where something is about 4 inches from the side of your car with your mirrors adjusted to where the car just disappears from the mirror, I bet 100 bucks you will see whatever it is that's 4 inches from your car. Just because the car isn't in the mirror, doesn't mean you can't see something that might scratch it or hit it.
@@rev9fan1 I tried it man. I just can't get used to this mirrors setup. I would rather keep checking over my shoulder. It's an automatic behaviour for me. Hard to change the old ways lol !
BRO I NEVER KNEW THERE WAS A SWITCH!!! I been trying to adjust my seat to the side mirrors bro
LMFAOOOOOOO
this guy right here bruh smh
Good technic
I decided to look this up because it freaks me out there are cars in my blind spot. I don't see them unless I completely turn my head
Facts
I thought i should adjust the mirrors facing downwards to see my wheels cuz i thought that would help me in parking
You can adjust them downwards while parking. But when you start driving again, bring them back to the position shown in the video. Some cars do this automatically. (Lower the mirror in reverse, raise the mirror back up after parking).
I'm with you on this one but my instructor tilted my side mirrors so high today that I feel lost.
No, if you have them adjusted so the top of the mirror is aligned with the roof of cars, or the top of the grill of a semi truck, all you have to do is sit up in your seat and you will see what you need to park.
I once adjusted side mirrors the way he mentions in this video. i ended up hitting the pole fence on driver side back. deep scratch for the pole was sharp edge. i could’ve easily avoided this if i had adjusted side mirrors the way i could see rear sides of car since it works as a reference. we in europe don’t adjust mirrors this way for daily driving. when it comes to blind spots we turn our head over shoulder and view what’s around in the blind spots. this is the best way for daily driving not for race car driving though. i think this setting is good for highway traffic. in urban driving european mirrors adjustment is better and safe since you can see pedestrians, cyclists and more in your rear side view which prevents you hitting them.
With this method, there is no blind spot between the side mirror and the center mirror. All this method does is minimize the blind spot over your shoulder. If you can see a pedestrian in your side mirror using your method, you can also see him in your center mirror... This method requires an instinctive knowledge of your car's position relative to your surrounding, which is gotten through the awareness of the car's reaction to any depression in the road. This method is not for clueless drivers that can't tell what their car's limits are to the point of being unable to make turns without hitting the back of their car against the curb and whatnot. You could have easily avoided the pole fence if you had waited for the first half of your car to drive past it before turning to full lock.
@@FlameHazeist you still have to move your head to check the blind spot. i think this set up is great for lane switching (you see more of the side) but you lose on the rear corners. now you have to shift your head while looking at the side mirror for that.
@@mescellaneous The rear corners are not useful for regular driving. They are the equivalent of pointing your rearview mirror toward the ground if the car could allow you to see through it. At best it serves as an inferior-to-rear-cameras parking aid, but simply leaning toward the mirror also restores that utility, making that setup wholly useless in a regular car. Semi trucks are a completely different matter of course due to their much longer height and length, but also lack of a rearview mirror. If semi trucks had invisible trailers and an unobstructed rearview mirror, they would be able to have quite a wide view also since it is proportional to the distance. Due to not having that, their rear view is limited to the side perspectives and they must have additional side mirrors to cover their blind spots otherwise chaos would ensue. In comparison most regular cars do not suffer from these weaknesses because of their standard height and length, but also their _wide-angle_ rearview mirror that is made possible because of the small distance between it and the rear windshield.
You should never look over your shoulder first of to switch lanes, it takes a split second for someone to stop short in front of you and you rear end them it's your fault. The way the mirrors are adjusted in the video, should make it so you do not need to look over your shoulder. As far as backing up, if you adjusted your side view mirrors so you barely don't see the back of the car, then adjust your driving style accordingly. If the pole is in the center of your side view mirror you will not hit it, if it's getting close to the inside portion of the side view mirrors you are in danger of hitting it....this is common sense people!
So it takes away from how close someone is to you because you can't see your own vehicle?
Yes you can, your car is just where mirror view start. Because when you are setting them, you will stop ✋ just when your car disappear from the mirrors, just in that point ir your car 🚗
What? That makes zero sense! Try it JUST LIKE HE SAYS..AND THEN KEEP YOUR HEAD IN A NEUTRAL POSITION AND JUST SHIFT YOUR EYES WHICH MUCH SAFER THAN TURNING YOUR HEAD & YOU SHOULD REALIZE THAT HE IS 100% CORRECT.
@@thomaslynch3688 I wonder how many accidents you have caused and never knew...
@@root1657 After getting my driver's license I used the method taught in school to drive around. After a close call changing lanes, I switched to this method and have been accident-free and close call-free since (except the one time I was tired and didn't look at my side mirror on the highway. Thank god that car moved over to the right, and I was changing lanes slowly, otherwise $$$$). It is a misconception to think that this method creates a blind spot between the side mirror and the center mirror. It does not as as all it does is minimize the blind spot over your shoulder.
Your side view mirror is part of your vehicle.... a liltle estimation can fix that.
good
We see best with both eyes as it is the way to see things in 3D and to allow us to properly judge distance between own car and others. As a result, I would suggest adjusting the left mirror with your right eye(blink the left eye shut) and vice versa using the same method as described in this video clip.
Furthermore, there is no substitute for convex mirror, that's why some cars comes with it standard.
I wholeheartedly agree. For setting up my side mirrors, I've always made sure I used both my eyes while adjusting them to make sure I don't rely on only one eye.
as a pool player, you actually should adjust with your dominant eye. you really see mainly out of one eye, so it's important to know which one and adjust accordingly.
there are many techniques to find your dominant eye on the internet. i don't really have a specific method because they're all kind of vague sometimes, but i already know im left dominant. a way to verify is to look at like a straight object (pool cue) that's laid directly in line with your vision. if you close one eye and compare with the other, your non-dominant eye will be much more offset. a non official way i've noticed is that your dominant eye is usually bigger and not 'lazy'. that's because you use it more, everyone has a dominant eye now you'll notice, because everyone has one eye bigger than the other usually.
What do you mean overlap
My driving instructor had me do something completely different and I couldnt see out of either of my side mirrors the whole time I was out. It was horrible.
Your pretty, what's you're Instagram?
Wild Heart no
Please. We can share tips on driving. I'm having a bad day :( I ended up crashing Into a curb:(
I have to a say this was the funniest thing today
@@wildheart8843 LOL
you should keep some amount of the car visible so you can see it while reversing and have better spacial awareness of the car. It is wise to line up the front door handle to the bottom inner corner of both mirrors.