subject: Mirrors and Cars [print this page] Mirrors and Cars Mirrors and Cars
Whenever you are driving in your car, how often do you find yourself using your rear view mirror, side mirrors or some other kind of mirror? As many of us are already aware, the mirrors that are on your vehicle are merely meant as a guide- a reference point if you will. However, many of us have come to rely on our mirrors a little more than we should perhaps.
Relying too much on your mirrors has been one of the main causes of car accidents in recent years. For example, did you know that the majority of car accidents take place right in the parking lot of your favorite supermarket or department store? In these instances, people use their mirrors to help guide them out of a parking space. However, in the interim, they fail to use their heads! In driver's education classes, the driving instructors always require us to use our heads to turn around and glance over our shoulder in order to make sure that the coast is clear. The same thing also applies whenever we are changing lanes. Prior to a lane change, you are supposed to glance over the shoulder of the direction that you want to change lanes into. So, for example, if you wanted to change lanes in order to get into the right hand lane, you would glance over your right shoulder.
Driving on a massive highway, you can't afford to make mistakes such as with simple lane changes. If the other person is focused ahead on their driving, he or she may not anticipate your ill fated move, and you may wind up with quite a problem on your hands if you don't make sure that you keep up with it! That being said, when should you use your mirrors? When I was taking driver's education classes during high school, the instructors informed us that while you are driving, you should constantly be using your side view as well as your rear view mirrors in order to keep an eye on what traffic is doing around you. For instance, if you heard a police siren in the distance, you may use your rear view mirror in order to see what lane they are approaching you in so that you can get out of their way.
Mirrors are meant to be a check point, meaning that you should 'check in' every now and again in order to make sure that you are being as safe as possible. Especially if you are a new parent, mirrors are great for making sure that your kids are behaving or to simply glance in the mirror now and again to make sure that they are not doing something that they shouldn't be doing. Mirrors can also warn you of danger such as a car that is approaching you too fast from behind or some other sort of accident that you may be able to get out of the way of as long as you glance back quickly.
