Modern safety features have made driving much safer and more comfortable. Even with the use of cameras and sensors, car mirrors have remained an essential safety feature. Unlike modern sensors, you will find side and rearview mirrors in every car you come across.
Correct adjustment of the mirrors is key to eliminating the blind spots. In fact, learning to use mirrors is equally important when learning to drive. During a road test, the driving instructor observes if their students adjusted the mirrors properly or not before starting the car. Therefore adjusting the mirrors properly is very important before you start driving.
Adjusting Mirrors for Maximum Visibility
Well-adjusted mirrors also require correctly adjusted seats to make the driving experience comfortable, easier and safer. Let’s take a look at the steps to adjust car mirrors accordingly.
Adjust Driver Seat
The moment you sit in to drive the car, adjust the seat according to your height. If your feet don’t reach the throttle, brake or clutch pedal, move the seat forward from the side lever and adjust the lumbar support.
Modern cars are equipped with powered control to make adjustments electronically. Some high-end models offer memory seating to remember your seat position. This helps quickly reposition seats even if the car is driven by someone else.
Adjust Side Mirrors
Once you feel comfortable with the seat adjustments, start with the adjustment of side mirrors from the perspective of the driver seat. Depending on the car, you can either adjust the side view mirrors electronically or manually.
If the mirror is operated electronically, you will find a four-way power button and a mirror switcher button next to the steering wheel. The powered options make it easy to adjust both side mirrors while sitting on the driver seat. If the powered controls are located in uncommon positions, check the vehicle manual.
Older cars lack powered control and will require some effort to adjust side view mirrors. For manual adjustment, mirrors are adjusted either by pushing and pulling the mirror. Apart from the driver side, you will need to lean over to the passenger side to adjust the other mirror.
Here is a complete step-by-step guide to adjusting wing mirrors.
Adjust Rear View Mirror
A car’s rear view mirror is very important and its adjustment matters. Positioning the rearview mirror will depend on your height and posture position while driving. The mirror is adjusted in a way to show the entire rear window for maximum vision. This will allow you to see the cars in the lanes behind you.
Some rearview mirrors are equipped with anti-glare levers. This comes in handy during the night drive when lights from cars behind you can distract the driver with glare.
Using Car Mirrors
With correctly adjusted mirrors, all it takes is a simple glance to make a safe judgement call in changing lanes. In fact, always check mirrors when making a turn, switching lanes, pulling over, changing speed and overtaking. In high traffic situations, mirrors become essential in navigating difficult scenarios.
FAQs
How to adjust car mirrors to avoid blind spots?
On average, the correct positioning of side view mirrors does not remove the blind spots completely. The recommended setting by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to remove the blind spots includes adjusting side mirrors in an outward position. This means you won’t be able to see the rear edge of your car as the mirror is focused on the road view.
However, many drivers cannot get used to such settings as they are unable to view their own car in the mirrors. Since it’s hard to follow SAE recommendations, the side mirrors are positioned to show less of your own car and more of the road view.
In what position should you be to adjust the rearview mirror?
The position of rearview mirrors depends on the driver height and seating position. To correctly adjust the rearview mirror, you must be seated on the driver seat in a regular position.
Nowadays, modern cars are equipped with radars and sensors to offer various safety features to mitigate driver’s mistakes. Features like blind-spot mirrors, lane departure warning, parking assist, backup and 360-degree cameras help the driver with navigation even if the car mirrors are not properly monitored or adjusted.
If you want to test how modern safety features and driver assistance packages help with navigation, check out some used cars for sale in the UAE.
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Stay tuned to the UAE’s leading auto blogs for more information on car parts, market trends and automotive technology.
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