Mirrors
Before taking this lesson, please read and agree to our Terms and Conditions
Mirrors are used to see what’s behind and to the side of the car without the driver having to move his/her head. Most cars have two external mirrors and one internal.
The internal rear view mirror is usually placed at the top centre of the windscreen. When adjusting the mirror the driver needs to be careful to sit in their normal driving position and adjust the mirror with their left hand, keeping the fingers off the mirror surface.
Adjusting the interior rear view mirror
Adjust your internal rear view mirror so that you can see the whole of the rear window without having to move your head.
Rear view mirror correctly adjusted
Rear view mirror incorrectly adjusted
Rear view mirror incorrectly adjusted
(WARNING! It is often suggested that the mirror should be adjusted slightly ‘off’ so that you have to move your head when looking into it. This is supposed to be so that, on your driving test, the examiner can see when you are checking your mirrors. This is a myth! Examiners know perfectly well when you are checking your mirrors properly without having to see head movement. Furthermore, if he sees you having to move your head, he’s more likely to think you don’t even know how to adjust your mirror correctly. So adjust it properly. If it helps put your mind at rest, I have always taught my pupils to adjust mirrors correctly in this manner and, in all the hundreds of tests my pupils have taken, I have never had a fail on mirrors. Not once.)
If your mirror is not big enough for you to see the whole rear window, align the top right corner of the mirror with the top right corner of the window.
Now adjust both external mirrors - how you do that will vary from car to car. Ask your supervisor to show you. Both mirrors should be adjusted as shown in the diagrams below.
Exterior right mirror, correctly adjusted
Exterior left mirror, correctly adjusted
Now that you have adjusted your mirrors correctly, compare what you can see in them with the diagram below.
Notice the shaded areas? These are areas to the side and rear of the car that, even with mirrors, you can’t see without moving your head. They are called blind spots and, to drive safely at any speed, you must always be aware of what is going on in your blind spots.
Any time you are changing direction, or moving the car to the left or right, or changing lanes, you must check the appropriate blind spot first to avoid the risk of collision. This will be discussed in detail in later lessons.
Some external mirrors are convex in shape in order to reduce the size of the blind spot (see diagram below).
Be aware that convex mirrors reduce the size of the image so vehicles will appear further away than they really are. If you see a vehicle in a convex external mirror and it appears closer in a flat interior mirror, the interior mirror is the one to believe. Either way, don’t change direction until you are sure of the whereabouts of any vehicles around you and you are sure it is safe to do so.
