Safe Speed Forums

Something stuck me today (not literally ) about my observations. I realised I was doing something I hadn't noticed before, and I don't know how long I've been doing it.

What happened was I was in L2 coming off a roundabout and heading towards a spot where the road merged into a single lane. The roundabout has lights which were on red as I approached but changed just at the right time for me to pootle through as L2 had nobody waiting at the lights. Incidentally, I was planning to pull in behind the first car off the lights in L1 at the point where the lanes merged, hence pootling through rather than caning it which would have fallen somewhere between antisocial and unnecessarily risky. Now, what I realised a few hundred yards up the road was that I was keeping track of where the second car in L1 was by being unable to see it. As I passed it entered the view in my n/s mirror and then disappeared without then re-appearing in the driving mirror. Knowing he was around somewhere and being unable to actually see him could only mean one thing - that he was in my C pillar blind spot. With no turnings available to turn into and assuming that he hadn't bumped up onto the pavement and driven through the trees I knew exactly where he had to be even though I couldn't actually see him. A quick biker style life-saver confirmed it, though already knowing where he was I really only wanted to see that he was reacting to my indicator being on, and sure enough... .

What interests me, as I said, is that I have been completely unaware of doing this before. It seems a little unlikely that today was the first time I'd worked out where another vehicle was by knowing where it wasn't, so I've probably been at it for years without ever being concious of it before. Now that I know I do it I'll probably notice every time, although it strikes me as being something that I don't care to rely upon too much. Like I said, I felt the need to look over a shoulder just to see what he was doing - knowing where he was but not what his plans were isn't quite enough when you're going to run out of road soon. But I thought I'd chuck this in for discussion. Is it a habit I should train myself out of, or is it something I can continue to use judiciously?

_________________
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

I use motorcycle type lifesavers all of the time in the car but I became aware of it in quite a different way.
My passengers feel very uneasy as they think I keep staring at them. I'm sure the lady colleague I travelled with last week thought I was a bit leery (is that a word? It is now!)
I would rather do the lifesaver than take a chance on calculation.

sorry if I'm being a bit daft here, but you're talking about looking over your shoulder aren't you?

I do the over-shoulder looks only when I am unsure - and then I do them unreservedly. This is mainly after emerging onto a roundabout where, for good reason, concerntration has had to divert strongly to traffic on or entering the roundabout from my right, with activity to my left less important short-up.

I hope it is not overconfidence, but in 99 cases out of 100, if I am asked what the situation is behind me and to the side of me, I won't have to look, because I will already know.

How often do I look in the mirrors when going forward on the open road? For the most part never - or all the time, take your pick. I only ever wear monofocal glasses to drive - those that correct me to be good at distance, and the peripheral vision takes in all it needs to side and rear all the time via the well-adjusted mirrors.

Are there any times when I make a point of looking in the mirror(s) when going forward on the open road? Yes, when my peripheral continued subconscious surveillance tells me that it is worth doing so. Then, every few seconds, my head will be bobbing all over the place, even if, for safety's sake my cruising speed has dropped a bit to accommodate my reduced forward concentration. The reasons can be wide and varied. Unusual lighting pattern, something gaining on me relatively quickly, emergency vehicle coming up..)

How often do I look in the mirrors or sideways when in a built up area with minimal traffic or pedestrians on show? You'd barely be able to take my photo as my head is bobbing everywhere to scan in everything that I need to, with appropriately reduced forward pace as a result, often down to substantially below the speed limit I'm sure. why? Because whilst peripheral vision is great, it can't hope to scan for subtleties where a decent snapshot is needed - like up the side road at an oblique angle to know there';s no bike going to shoot out at you 2 seconds later, etc etc.

ok, so having established that you are talking about looking over your shoulder. Do you mean to tell me that there are people who rely solely on mirrors when changing lanes or turning corners? If I put my cyclist hat on I find that thought truly terrifying, although it does explain why so many people think they can turn across me. Even with my motorist hat on, it's still quite scary.

Well there are vans of course, your going to see sod all if you look over your left shoulder! Most now have wide-angle mirrors which help eliminate blind spots, but not all. The trick is to try as much as possible to anticipate what over road users are going to do and so using the mirrors will be a confirmation of what you suspected rather then trying to gain all the information from the mirrors and maintaining concentration ahead.

I adjust my side mirrors outwards so there's just a slight overlap with the rear-view mirror. That way, the mirrors cover pretty much everything except if a vehicle is already alongside your rear windows - and a quick 90 degree turn of the head takes that in.

Cheers
Peter

_________________
Only when ideology, prejudice and dogma are set aside does the truth emerge - Kepler

When I was taught to drive a car, I was taught that you should never be looking in any direction other than ahead, except when stationary and checking before pulling away.

Then I learnt to ride a motorcycle, and was immediately taught to look over my shoulder, the "lifesaver". Since then I've always used the same technique in a car.

johnsher wrote:



There are plenty of drivers who don't even use the mirrors!

Same here. I never change lanes without checking the mirror then a glance over my sholder as a double check. It only takes a split second.

I NEVER trust the mirror only.

_________________
Speed camera policy Kills

Those who live around Aberdeen /Bucky may confirm to JJ that (as i rememberit) leery means somat like be wary of, like JJ's coleagues.

Yes - like all in here - i always take the picture in my drivers mirror as a good idea ,to be reinforced by an old fashioned look over the shoulder - in a transit i alays have the luxury of another mirror. In the car, on the passenger side i usualy have Mrs B sharp vision to depend on.

Try driving a Truck out of most motorway service areas and looking over your left shoulder for the cars coming out.
At most MSAs trucks have to give way to their left, not the easiest thing to do, believe me.
Some MSAs have changed the priority to bring them into line with the give way to the right standard every where else on the road, some have said they will do it on the next refurb, a lot have ignored it in the hope it will go away.
Until the next MSA design induced SMIDSY accident, then it will of course be the Truck drivers fault.

_________________
Semper in excreta, nur quantitat variat.

Oooops sorry, Yes.

Well you seem to be taking so much time over deciding whether to look or not that it would be much quicker, easier and safer just to LOOK!

Have to agree, i do too, works ok in a small car but not so well in a large vehicle. It just goes to show that education wins everytime, that's what the motorcycle course drum into you from the word go, lifesaver checks and forget them at your peril.

but it's not just motorcycle courses - the highway code tells you to do it as well, so presumably all driving schools will be teaching this.

How long ago were you taught to drive? You were taught wrong!

You should always look over your right shoulder before moving into the lane to the right. Its not always such an issue for the left lane as most vehicles get a better view from the left hand mirror, but there are still times when a check is necessary.

The Highway code says alot of things, most of which is useful for picking out whilst defending or prosecuting an argument or debate. The reality is that not many people would be able to quote from the Highway code without looking it up and not many have memorised it from cover to cover.

Riding motorcycles means that your life depends on the lifesaver check, the same could also be said for cycling, driving etc but it isn't a key component of the driving test. J

The lifesaver check is a key component of the test and unlike many rules, laws or advice, truly is a lifesaver.

I find that I look over my shoulders in the car much more often if I've been riding the bike alot. Probably something to do with not having any mirrors on the bike.

Regardless, I always check to my left / right when changing lanes just to be absolutely sure. I think its more a habit from riding than anything else, but it does do the job.

_________________
Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.