Nothing exists in a vacuum. That’s true for most of anything, and that includes the motorists. When one drives, one doesn’t just jump into the car and shoot down the highway. Immediately, the world turns to include daredevil pedestrians to honk at, streetlights to follow and other drivers to keep eyes on. This is where the existence of side view mirrors comes in handy. Side view mirrors, from the operative words side and view, are mirrors that one often sees affixed to the left and right sides of any number of contemporary car makes and models these days. Also called wing mirrors, mirrors of this sort, like the
CIPA mirror, offer the driver much needed access into the traffic on both sides of any particular vehicle while driving down the road. By being aware of this, the driver can gauge the distance from his (or her) car from the other cars behind or beside him (or her, again) and make a decision whether to step on the accelerator to adjust his speed accordingly or ease off it, to honk a warning or simply turn the steering wheel a bit to the side. In short, the side view mirrors serve as necessary preventive measures against possible collisions and crashes that any driver runs the risk of getting involved in.
It is then of the utmost importance for side view mirrors to perform the function for which they are specifically set out for and not merely produce the same view that the driver sees from the rear view mirror. This is the common mistake most motorists make. When they look at their side mirrors and see that it shows a bit of what’s behind them, they immediately leave their side mirrors alone, convinced and content that the work has been done—when in fact, the work has barely even begun. How will you know if your side mirrors are placed the way they should be? Easy. First, check out the view in your rear view mirror. When you’ve got your mind wrapped around the visuals, look at the view in your side mirror, the one closest to the driver’s seat. Do you see the same thing? If yes, then that’s a problem and runs the risk of you driving yourself and the people you have with you into an accident while you cruise the streets and highways. But the good news is, you can rectify that.
Now, after confirming the fact that the arrangement of your side mirrors is flawed, adjust them. Lean your head a bit to the left (or to whichever side of the side mirror that is closer to you), reach out and turn it until you can barely see the side of the car, turn it in such a way that, when driving down along the streets, the resulting position will allow you to see the traffic on your side after you’ve seen it from the rear view mirror. The line-up should be like this: first, when a car comes up behind you on a lane, you catch sight of it in the rearview mirror followed by the side view mirrors. And finally, when the car has reached your side, you no longer need the mirrors as an aid to see it since, by that time, it will have already appeared in the periphery of your vision.
