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How to Eliminate the Dreaded “Blind Spot”

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Re: How to Eliminate the Dreaded “Blind Spot”

#231

Post by Johnny555 »

u801e wrote: post #219
Johnny555 wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where else would you put it? If you put it on the left, then bikes are going to have to cross the car's path to get in/out of the bike lane. So either way, cars and bikes will be merging past each other. However, in California, cars are not supposed to "turn right across another straight-ahead lane to the right", they are supposed to merge safely into the bike lane and turn right from the bike lane, letting any bikes…

> Where else would you put it? Just have the cyclist ride in the right-most lane available for traffic. Then there are no crossing movements to deal with. Cars making a right turn will either be directly ahead of the cyclist or directly behind the cyclist.

Does that really solve the problem of cars turning to the right in front of cyclists? Seems like the same motorist that would pass the cyclist in the bike lane and turn right in front of him, would also pass the cyclist in the roadway and turn right in front of him.

Re: How to Eliminate the Dreaded “Blind Spot”

#233

Post by koonsolo »

ummonk wrote: post #25

There are smaller things (bicycles, motorcycles, pedestrians) that can sneak into the gap between the side and rearview mirror views here. And colliding with one of those is much more likely to cause serious injury or death than colliding with a car. It's a much better idea to make sure your side and rear mirrors have complete coverage (i.e. no gaps) at the back, and actually turning your head to check the blind spot…

I drive a motorcycle, and from the other end, "being seen" is one of the most important things.

The main rule is, if you can see the driver in his mirror, he can see you. You should always try to jump past the blind spots, and stay in the spots that they can see. If you have experience on the road, a lot of times you already know what a driver will do before he does it.

Cars are still OK, but trucks have plenty of blind spots, and they are pretty large. Right behind them, right in front of them (!). I'm always careful around them.

Re: How to Eliminate the Dreaded “Blind Spot”

#234

Post by muzika »

pps43 wrote: post #64
justtopost wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. It puzzles me too how an A-pillar large enough to disapear a motorcycle, or group of children, is somehow accepted as safe. Our indescriminate push for safely has taken control from our hands in many contexts it seems.

Passive safety. A-pillar might be so bulky because it contains curtain airbag and provides structural stability necessary for good crash rating.

Airbags don’t go into the A pillars typically - they start at about the top of the windshield, and when they blow the headliner tears, but not the plastic covering the A pillar.

Re: How to Eliminate the Dreaded “Blind Spot”

#235

Post by mh- »

jacobolus wrote: post #226
m1n1 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This, and the other comments that say turning your head is still necessary. I tried what the link suggests and had many instances where a motorcycle zipped by close to my car -- I didn't notice them until [what would have been] too late because I couldn't see the area next to my car easily that way. Now I have my mirrors adjusted so I can see motorcycles better, and I turn my head to check the remainder. All humans a…

> All humans are legally blind in their peripheral vision just a few degrees off-axis, This is a misleading summary. Humans can’t read text or distinguish fine textures in peripheral vision, but peripheral vision is very good at detecting moving objects (that’s arguably its main purpose). I like to think of peripheral vision as “prey vision” – as in, “what would I need to know about my environment if I were a deer an…

> detecting moving objects

substantial movement relative to your position/trajectory.

Re: How to Eliminate the Dreaded “Blind Spot”

#236

Post by rhacker »

wahern wrote: post #158
mveety wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is fantastic advice. The only thing I can really add is you should be keeping track of what’s around you, don’t look just before a lane change. Having good situational awareness is the most important thing when driving.

I used to emphasize and practice that, back when I drove a '93 Honda Civic. It was a useful skill as I would naturally adjust my speed to prevent cars from cruising in my blind spot or to give myself more room for maneuvering. But newer cars have such poor visibility that it takes too much effort to track movement such that it becomes a diversion. In my '93 Civic any kind of movement in my peripheral--direct or in th…

Definitely true about newer cars. My wife and I shop for cars specifically looking at the back window being small and raised too high as an automatic NO. We last bought in 2011, and the car has one of the largest back windows on the road today. I don't know what we're going to do when it's time for an upgrade.

Re: How to Eliminate the Dreaded “Blind Spot”

#237

Post by nostrademons »

m1n1 wrote: post #44
ummonk wrote: post #25

There are smaller things (bicycles, motorcycles, pedestrians) that can sneak into the gap between the side and rearview mirror views here. And colliding with one of those is much more likely to cause serious injury or death than colliding with a car. It's a much better idea to make sure your side and rear mirrors have complete coverage (i.e. no gaps) at the back, and actually turning your head to check the blind spot…

This, and the other comments that say turning your head is still necessary. I tried what the link suggests and had many instances where a motorcycle zipped by close to my car -- I didn't notice them until [what would have been] too late because I couldn't see the area next to my car easily that way. Now I have my mirrors adjusted so I can see motorcycles better, and I turn my head to check the remainder. All humans a…

I've got my mirrors set as the article describes. I've had motorcycles zip by right beside the car, splitting lanes. I saw them coming, and had them in complete view from when they entered the rearview mirror to the side mirror to out the side window.

I've measured the exact point at which an object leaves the field of vision of the side mirror, and I'm pretty sure it's slightly ahead of the driver side window, at which point glancing at the mirror will see them anyway. There's potentially a blind spot if a motorcyclist or bicyclist is on the far side of the lane next to you (not close to the car, but lined up with it), but as long as you change lanes slowly and don't just barrel across 4 lanes of traffic you'll see them long before you hit them.

Re: How to Eliminate the Dreaded “Blind Spot”

#238

Post by darkpuma »

flatfilefan wrote: post #197
danjayh wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ignorant because it's not what you believe, or because you have data to justify your beliefs? Explain to me the logic from a safety perspective. 40mph car vs 15mph bike? Biker is lucky to live. 15mph bike vs 4mph pedestrian? Maybe a broken bone, if that. Besides insulting me and declaring that because bicycles are vehicles they should be on the road, you provide no quantitative reasoning to back your position. I fail…

A bike going 30 km/h on a sidewalk is often impossible to see from a car doing a right turn because it’s covered by cars parked on the curb.

Cyclists, like car drivers and pedestrians, should look in all directions for dangerous traffic before crossing an intersection. The right of way is little consolation for the dead.

    Here lies the body of Henry Gray,
    He died maintaining his right of way.
    He was right, so right, as he sped along,
    But he's just as dead as if he were wrong.

Re: How to Eliminate the Dreaded “Blind Spot”

#239

Post by nostrademons »

ummonk wrote: post #225
pdonis wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the article's suggestion doesn't allow me to see something smaller like a motorcycle with the mirrors In other words, you now have some amount of "blind spot" for motorcycles--but only motorcycles. Whereas, with the mirrors adjusted further in, you still have some blind spot for motorcycles--though perhaps less than with them adjusted further out--but you also now have a blind spot for cars , which you don't have w…

You can turn your head and check the blind spot on your side. You can’t turn your head and check the motorcycle blind spot at the back. A large checkable blind spot (which you always check) is far preferable to a small uncheckable blind spot.

At least on my car (09 Honda Fit), there isn't one of those. A motorcycle coming from the back enters the side mirror field of view before it leaves the rear mirror field of view.
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