Mirror, Mirror, who's the nearest of them all?

Every vehicle has mirrors placed in prominent positions to allow drivers to see areas around and behind their vehicles. When positioned properly, mirrors can help to provide almost a complete 360-degree view of the areas around any vehicle, with the exception of directly behind the rear bumper.  Additional technology such as rear-facing cameras complete the picture and supplement the mirrors.  When using your mirrors, remember that they provide a portion of the total picture.

---

Void Areas

The requirements of mirrors are necessary to ensure that drivers have the capability of seeing the areas to the rear corners and next to their vehicles. The areas are often “invisible” if just looking out the windows, but when using mirrors those areas become visible and allow drivers to see more completely around their vehicles. The “invisible” areas around the car are commonly referred to as the VOID AREAS.

---

Proper Mirror adjustments

INTERIOR MIRROR:  If your vehicle is equipped with an interior center mirror, it should be adjusted to “frame” the rear window of the vehicle.  This allows for a “pillar-to-pillar” rear view of the area behind the vehicle.

RIGHT & LEFT EXTERIOR MIRRORS:  Both the right and left exterior mirrors should be adjusted to allow the most complete view of those areas to the rear corners and sides of the vehicle.  The “best practice” method of adjusting the mirrors is as follows:

• Drivers should place their head against the head restraint in their seats, sitting straight up in the seat.
• Turn your head to the left or right to view the mirrors.
• Adjust the mirror outward to the point where you can JUST SEE THE REAR CORNER OF THE VEHICLE in the mirror, then turn the mirror out JUST SLIGHTLY MORE.  This method allows for the reduction of the BLIND SPOT in the mirror.
• If you need to see the sides of your vehicle when backing, lean your head over to the left or right and the vehicle’s sides will be visible for reference.

REAR VEHICLE MIRROR:  If your vehicle is equipped with a mirror at the rear (trucks, box vans, buses), adjust the mirror so you can see the rear bumper of the vehicle from the driver’s seat.

REAR-VIEW CAMERA:  If equipped, use the camera view to SUPPLEMENT the overall picture – DON’T RELY ONLY ON THE CAMERA FOR THE REAR VIEW.  You won’t get the full picture behind or around your vehicle if you only use the camera.

                 Always turn your head and use the mirrors to complete the picture.

---