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Adjust your mirrors every time you get in the car. Just squiggling around an inch or two either way will change the view.
Practice, and ease yourself into this slowly. Go out early on a Sunday morning, or whenever traffic is likely to be light, and practice changing lanes using the good advice given upthread about speed, etc. Change lanes even if there aren't any cars around you, to get the feel of moving the car from lane to lane.
Notice when others are changing lanes. Give them room to do so.
In a somewhat different direction: Learn to let others into heavy traffic. If someone is in a lane that is backed up from an unseen problem, let them in. If they are simply trying to get out of a side street or driveway, let them in. On the other hand, if someone just flew past 50 cars and wants to crowd over to gain a personal advantage in traffic, let them sit. I know that may sound peevish, but those rude sorts really irritate me.
Let people cross in front of you on foot. It doesn't take much time out of your day and it just might make theirs. Caution is advised here as other drivers may not be paying as much attention as you. I have been know to stop, get out of my car and then stop traffic going in the other direction to let people cross. Sometimes others need to be forced into being considerate. I am not shy about being the one doing it. I don't recommend this for everyone, but I'm a big guy and not too many are going to miss me or argue with me. A woman 5'-5" tall might not have as good an experience doing this...
if you have to look over your shoulder to change lanes, your mirrors are not correctly adjusted. On your outside mirrors you should NOT be able to see the side of the car at all igf you have them adjusted correctly. Most people have them incorrectly adjusted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by city_data91
You're right about that. I have drove alone a lot with my license and it is more pleasant. But me and my parents both decided it would be best if I don't go on the highway alone (for now at least) since I never really mastered it.
The trick about looking in the mirrors then over your shoulder is what I've been told. But I think my biggest problem is that I only have a fraction of a second to judge whether or not it's safe. Plus my dad (mom won't even touch the highway with me haha) would always complain I either look over my shoulder too long or not long enough.
I know from experience that I will crash at least once (this happened when I was 16 and I haven't crashed since). Let's just hope that will be the only time.
all very good points (aside from the early posts regarding liability. yikes). some pointers i use:
1) always know what's going on around you. it only takes a bit to glance in each mirror real quick from time to time. more importantly, know how fast those around you are going. you hear people say things all the time about how someone was 'all over them' the second they changed lanes. more often than not, it's because the person that changed lanes did a poor job of determining how much faster traffic was moving in the lane they got into. as the person merging over, it is your responsibility to match the traffic that's already in that lane.
2) use your turn signal. seems obvious, but it's worth mentioning.
3) if you can't see the front tires of the car you want to move in front of in your rearview mirror (not sideview), you're not leaving enough room.
4) as much as possible, try not to change lanes when you're even with a car two lanes over. say you're in the #1 lane and you want to move back over to the #2 after passing someone (because, like a good driver, you're not cruising in the passing lane, right?). if someone is in the #3 lane and they're pretty much even with your car, try to get a bid ahead of them before coming over. and again, USE THAT SIGNAL!!! oftentimes what can happen is that you and the guy in the #3 lane both go for the #2 lane at the same time. if you get a bit ahead and use your turn signal so they can see what you're trying to do, it makes for a safer maneuver.
5) no matter how much you look or how much signal you use, you NEVER have the right of way nor are you 'in the right' when you make a lane change. it's not a magic wand that gives you authority to move over when you want. yes, the world would be a great place if we all accomodated one another when it came to lane changes, but at the end of the day, YOU are responsible for getting yourself into the next lane safely.
6) as a personal favor, keep a super sharp eye out for motorcyclists. please. just one more quick check of the mirrors before you make that lane change can be all the difference. i cannot tell you how many times i've had near misses from people who just do not pay attention.
Mike
Last edited by whiteboyslo; 05-04-2010 at 11:30 AM..
if you have to look over your shoulder to change lanes, your mirrors are not correctly adjusted. On your outside mirrors you should NOT be able to see the side of the car at all igf you have them adjusted correctly. Most people have them incorrectly adjusted.
There have been other threads posted about this subject and I will say again that this is not true.
all very good points (aside from the early posts regarding liability. yikes). some pointers i use:
3) if you can't see the front tires of the car you want to move in front of in your rearview mirror (not sideview), you're not leaving enough room.
6) as a personal favor, keep a super sharp eye out for motorcyclists. please. just one more quick check of the mirrors before you make that lane change can be all the difference. i cannot tell you how many times i've had near misses from people who just do not pay attention.
Mike
3 is very good advice.
6 is one of the reasons for my disagreement in the post above
6 is one of the reasons for my disagreement in the post above
I really think it comes down to the vehicle and the driver on that one. I've driven vehicles where I certainly can see everything in the mirrors (usually with the help of some kind of fish-eye mirror to check blindspots), but some vehicles just do not seem to have enough mirror. It may just be me. I dunno. I keep playing with the mirrors on my xB and cannot ever get them where I see everything (the c pillar on that thing is ridiculous). When I go to make a lane change in it, I always take a quick peak over the correlating shoulder. I do the same on the bike, too. Those mirrors are basically worthless. My wide frame causes my arms to block most of the view even eith mirror extenders.
No, I am not. There are a lot of assumptions made in saying that adjusting the mirrors on any vehicle will give everyone complete vision around them. To tell a new driver that they can see everything they need to by simply adjusting their mirrors is a reckless thing to do. I don't care if it's Car and Driver or you.
I know a number of motor cycle riders that would gladly have a "conversation" with you regarding the practice you preach.
I think it's safe to say that no matter how you adjust the mirrors (personally I like to see just a tiny smudge of my own car as a reference point), you should always turn and look, there'll always be spots that the mirrors have missed, and checking directly is a good idea, even if you do have big B and C pillars.
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