Easy Print
Before taking this lesson, please read and agree to our Terms and Conditions
Suggested length - 1 hour
Introduction:
Mirrors are an integral and vital part of the driving test - for good reason. It is as important to know what’s going on beside you and behind you as it is to know what’s going on ahead. I never had trouble persuading drivers to look forward when they’re moving, but for some reason it’s very hard to persuade them to check their mirrors as well - and it’s to the side and behind that a great many accidents come from!
As a lesson, mirrors are usually included right at the beginning as part of lesson 1. So why is this lesson 12?
Because the importance of mirrors tends to be appreciated more with experience. When mirrors are taught only as part of the first lesson, when the pupil may never have driven a car before, it’s hard for the pupil to link what he should do with how it actually feels when he’s driving. So he/she may learn about them on the first lesson but, because it’s hard at that point to appreciate the importance of what they’re being told, it often gets forgotten.
My expectation is that this lesson will be taken when the pupil is ready or is experiencing problems.
Adjusting the mirrors:
With the car parked on the left of a quiet road, make sure your seating position is comfortable and as described in lesson 1. Now adjust the mirrors as described below.
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.
Adjust your internal rear view mirror so that you can see the whole of the rear window without having to move your head.
(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 mentor to show you. Both mirrors should be adjusted as shown in the diagrams below.
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.
S2
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.
Using the mirrors whilst driving.
For this part of the lesson, the pupil and the mentor should read the following and then put it into practice whilst driving.
At the risk of sounding obvious, the purpose of the mirrors is to give the driver knowledge of what is going on all around the car. Therefore, any time you are going to speed up, slow down, move to the left or the right, signal, or if you are just anticipating you may have to do any of these things, you must check your mirrors first to make sure it is safe to do so.
So, lets look at each change in speed or direction and think of the reasons why we should check the mirrors first.
- Speeding up. This means any time you have to speed up. You may, for example, be pulling away from a junction, about to overtake, accelerating after taking a sharp bend. By checking your mirrors at this point you are looking for many things, but mostly you need to check that there isn’t anyone trying to overtake you. If there is and you start to accelerate, they may find it difficult to get past. If they can’t get past and a vehicle comes the other way, there may be a serious accident. So you should ease off the accelerator and let them pass. Remember, if you deliberately accelerate to stop someone completing a passing manoeuvre and there is an accident, you could well find yourself guilty of an extremely serious offence and finish up in prison - not worth the risk!
- Slowing down. This means any time you have to slow down or think you may have to slow down. Checking your mirrors at this point is one way the examiner can tell how far ahead you are looking and planning. If you are not looking well ahead, situations may develop that you haven’t seen and cause you to finish up slamming on your brakes as you see it at the last moment. You must check your mirrors to see if there is anything close behind. If there is, you should brake earlier and more gently than usual incase the driver behind isn’t paying attention. Many rear end collisions would be avoidable if the driver in front had been planning well ahead and so braked a little more gently - if they don’t, any accident may still be the fault of the following vehicle, but good driving by the front vehicle may have made it avoidable.
- Moving or turning to the left or right. Any time you are going to move the vehicle off it’s normal course, you need to check the appropriate mirrors. So if you are turning or moving left, you should check the interior and exterior left mirrors. If you are turning or moving right, you should check the interior and exterior right mirrors. You are checking the interior mirror to see if any vehicles are about to move up next to you so that turning would cause a collision. You check the external mirrors to see if there is a vehicle already there for the same reason. Don’t forget you may also have to check your blind spots as described below.
- Signalling. Remember MSM? Mirrors, Signal, Manoeuvre. We must always check our mirrors before signalling for the simple reason we must make sure it’s actually safe to signal. For example, have you ever, as a passenger, been bombing down the outside lane of a dual carriageway or motorway only to have one of the cars you’re overtaking suddenly start to signal they are going to move into your lane? It causes panic doesn’t it - are they about to move out without looking? Are they going to just crash into you? The result is a slamming of the breaks just incase he hasn’t seen you and, of course, this can cause all kinds of problems behind if cars are too close. Now if the driver who signalled had check his mirrors, seen you overtaking and waited until you’d gone before signalling, all would be well. This is just one example of why it so important to check your mirrors before signalling - always.
Timing:
Knowing when to look into your mirrors is just as important as actually checking them. If you’re changing lanes on a dual carriageway, for example, there’s little point in checking your mirrors after you’ve started to move! But there’s more to it than that.
As I’ve mentioned previously in this lesson and, indeed, in several other lessons, the key to good driving, at any speed, is planning ahead. A critical point of planning ahead is checking your mirrors at the right time.
Lets take for example, travelling along a busy and fast dual carriageway - nearest you’ll get to a motorway before passing your test, so find one if you can, it’s good practice and they may well take you on one on your test.
Because of the greater speed on dual carriageways, you will need to look further ahead. As soon as you see a vehicle you may need to overtake, however far ahead it is - even a mile if you can see that far, check your interior mirror. What’s happening behind? Is it clear? Or is busy? Is it clear near you but you can see fast traffic approaching that will be near when you want to move out.
This kind of planning helps you to adjust your speed well in advance so you don’t end up having a last minute panic trying to find space to move out. As you approach the vehicle you are going to overtake, check your mirror several times. Look for a convenient and safe space in the traffic which will allow you to move out in good time. When the time is right, signal and make the move.
So, when is the time right? It’s right when you are not going to cause anyone to slow down or change direction. This is why you have a mentor next to you - to help you gain experience of such decisions.
See how important the timing of your mirror checks are? The examiner will look for this.
Now let’s look at a completely different type of driving - town centres. Try to have a mirrors lesson in a busy town.
Here there are many different hazards which will cause you to check your mirrors - mainly because of the likely need to slow down. Things to watch for include pedestrian crossings (see lesson 11), pedestrians running out, cyclists, busy junctions and much, much more. Practice spotting these hazards as early as possible and check your mirror incase you need to slow.
S3
Conclusion:
Mirrors are a critical part of the driving test. Failing to use your mirrors properly is dangerous. Whilst on your test, make sure you have them at the front of your mind at all times - this will have many benefits because, by constantly thinking about mirrors, you are forced to look carefully at what is happening and react accordingly and in good time. It simply makes you a better driver.
Well done. In this lesson you have learnt:
- The importance of checking mirrors
- Why we check mirrors<
- The importance of timing
- Which mirrors we should check
- How to plan ahead
