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We bought our used Insight from a private party in Illinois about two weeks ago. Since the Insight provides a different perspective of traffic than my previous car I wanted to be sure that I was adjusting my mirrors appropriately.
I searched the forums here and found previous threads where others alluded to setting mirrors toward "outward vision". This was helpful, but I needed a bit more detail. Then, coincidently I found an article on the web that expanded nicely on what people meant.
The article explains in detail how to adjust your mirrors to remove huge blind spots.
We have set the mirrors as they suggest and it works beautifully! I feel it has eliminated most of the blind spots. As they note in the article, I really can see the cars around me "slip" from one mirror to the other without ever losing track of them.
Enjoy!
***TEXT***
Setting Your Car Mirrors
Tom and Ray Magliozzi
We've discovered that it's possible to set your three mirrors (rearview and both side views) so that they eliminate almost any possible blind spots.
For years, we'd been setting our side-view mirrors so they gave us a view of the back corner of our cars. This is the way it's been passed down from grandfather to father to us. But we finally discovered something very interesting. The back corner of the car never moves. It always stays in the same exact place. So there's really no reason to keep an eye on it. And by moving the side mirrors farther out, you can line up all three of your mirrors so they have minimal overlap -- and you can see everything behind you and beside you.
Step 1: Start by setting your rear-view mirror as you normally would.
Then, lean your head all the way to the left so it touches the driver's window. From that position, set your left side-view mirror so you can see the back corner of your car. Now lean the same distance the other way, and set your right side-view mirror the same way.
Now, here's what happens. When a car comes up behind you, you should first see it in your rear-view mirror. But as it passes you (let's say on your left), you'll see it move to the left side of your rear-view mirror. And as its left headlight disappears from your rear-view mirror, it should instantly show up in your left side-view mirror. There should be no delay. It should slip from one to the other, so you can always see it.
Step 2 - Left-Side Mirror Alignment: Set your left-side mirror so that as soon as the passing car's left, front headlight disappears from your rear-view mirror, it appears in your left-side mirror.
You might need to make some slight adjustments to your side-view mirrors to make everything line up perfectly. And pulling up next to a line of parked cars (to simulate another lane of traffic next to you) is a good way to do that.
Step 3 - Right-Side Mirror Alignment: Then do the same thing on the right.
Step 4: End result? No huge blind spots.
Driving with the mirrors this way takes some getting used to. You have to learn to rely on your rear-view mirror first. And you'll have to get used to what your side-view mirrors are now looking at. But, the good news is that your blind spot should now be gone!
***
If you need some diagrams, here's a web link:
http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Archive/2002/November/07.html
Eric
New Formula Red 02 #1902
5 spd, Cruise
I searched the forums here and found previous threads where others alluded to setting mirrors toward "outward vision". This was helpful, but I needed a bit more detail. Then, coincidently I found an article on the web that expanded nicely on what people meant.
The article explains in detail how to adjust your mirrors to remove huge blind spots.
We have set the mirrors as they suggest and it works beautifully! I feel it has eliminated most of the blind spots. As they note in the article, I really can see the cars around me "slip" from one mirror to the other without ever losing track of them.
Enjoy!
***TEXT***
Setting Your Car Mirrors
Tom and Ray Magliozzi
We've discovered that it's possible to set your three mirrors (rearview and both side views) so that they eliminate almost any possible blind spots.
For years, we'd been setting our side-view mirrors so they gave us a view of the back corner of our cars. This is the way it's been passed down from grandfather to father to us. But we finally discovered something very interesting. The back corner of the car never moves. It always stays in the same exact place. So there's really no reason to keep an eye on it. And by moving the side mirrors farther out, you can line up all three of your mirrors so they have minimal overlap -- and you can see everything behind you and beside you.
Step 1: Start by setting your rear-view mirror as you normally would.
Then, lean your head all the way to the left so it touches the driver's window. From that position, set your left side-view mirror so you can see the back corner of your car. Now lean the same distance the other way, and set your right side-view mirror the same way.
Now, here's what happens. When a car comes up behind you, you should first see it in your rear-view mirror. But as it passes you (let's say on your left), you'll see it move to the left side of your rear-view mirror. And as its left headlight disappears from your rear-view mirror, it should instantly show up in your left side-view mirror. There should be no delay. It should slip from one to the other, so you can always see it.
Step 2 - Left-Side Mirror Alignment: Set your left-side mirror so that as soon as the passing car's left, front headlight disappears from your rear-view mirror, it appears in your left-side mirror.
You might need to make some slight adjustments to your side-view mirrors to make everything line up perfectly. And pulling up next to a line of parked cars (to simulate another lane of traffic next to you) is a good way to do that.
Step 3 - Right-Side Mirror Alignment: Then do the same thing on the right.
Step 4: End result? No huge blind spots.
Driving with the mirrors this way takes some getting used to. You have to learn to rely on your rear-view mirror first. And you'll have to get used to what your side-view mirrors are now looking at. But, the good news is that your blind spot should now be gone!
***
If you need some diagrams, here's a web link:
http://cartalk.cars.com/Columns/Archive/2002/November/07.html
Eric
New Formula Red 02 #1902
5 spd, Cruise