On Wednesday, August 2, 2023 at 7:45:56 AM UTC-4, badgolferman wrote:
> Wally J wrote:
>
> >A teen failed her driving test and the instructor wrote that she
> >failed to check her blind spot when making a right turn at an
> >intersection with a green light when the car crossed the bike lane to
> >the right.
> >
> >On my car, there is no blind spot.
> >I set the mirrors so that I can see any vehicle next to me.
> >From behind the car, to behind the c pillar and up to the b pillar.
> >
> >The car only leaves the mirrors when it crosses the b pillar.
> >And then I look (when turning right) into the passenger window.
> >
> >Where is this blind spot the instructor is talking about?
> >And how do you properly cross a bike land when making a right turn?
> Of course the blind spot is on the right rear and you're supposed to
> turn your head to look. In reality I adjust both my mirrors to be in
> my blind spot rather than the side of the car and move my head to see
> the side of the car for perspective in the mirror. Since I started
> riding a motorcycle five years ago I've made it a habit to turn my head
> again and actually look when changing lanes to the right. Having said
> all that I don't see how or why you would look in the blind spot when
> crossing over a bike lane unless you're going real slow or are stopped.
> If you're moving at normal speeds you can see any bike you're
> approaching and cross over without any chance of one coming up behind
> you.
>
> I took my first driver test in downtown Washington DC driving my
> father's 1967 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. That beast was nearly 20 feet
> long and hard to maneuver in the crowded and narrow streets of the
> city. It also was old enough that it only had one side view mirror on
> the driver's side. In those days the mirror was small and didn't stick
> out a foot like they do now. You had to turn your head in both
> directions when changing lanes because the one mirror was mostly
> useless.
______________

badgolfer:

Toward the end of what I quoted, you pointed out something that I consider
actually a FLAW of the sideview mirrors on modern(post 1990s) vehicles:

That of the side view mirrors being mounted so far out from the sides of the
car that you have to crick your neck to see in them in the first place!

It also negates the advantages of the BGE(blindzone-glare-elim) mirror
setting method prevalent in Europe, and I find that sometimes I lose even
moving vans in the zone between the sideview and rear view mirror.

For an idea of the best location for sideview mirrors on a car at least,
observe carefully their position on this Jaguar:

https://ccmarketplace.azureedge.net/cc-temp/listing/87/6342/1283501-1960-jaguar-xk150-std.jpg