Blind spots: where they are and how to check them
A blind spot is the area around your vehicle that no mirror shows. On a car it is small, on a lorry it is large.
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On a car
The largest blind spots are diagonally behind you on both sides. The pillars beside the windscreen can also hide a cyclist or pedestrian completely.
Well set mirrors make blind spots smaller, but never remove them. A blind spot warning in your car helps, but it does not replace looking.
When to look over your shoulder
- Before you change lanes.
- Before you turn right: cyclists and moped riders often ride on your right. When you turn, you give way to traffic going straight on along the same road.
- Before you pull away from the side of the road.
Lorries and buses
The driver sits high up and on the left. Beside the cab on the right and just in front of it they see little or nothing. If you cannot see the driver’s mirror, the driver cannot see you.
Stay behind a lorry or well ahead of it, and do not stop on the right of a lorry at traffic lights.
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