A View From the Blind Spot. Time to Review Setting Mirrors.

Yup, that's me, and I'm right in the driver's blind spot. So, if I had my side mirrors set the way many drivers do, you wouldn't see me there at all. What you also see in this mirror is my driver's head restraint showing where my seating position would be. When I'm driving, my side mirrors show me what many other driver's side mirrors don't: the stuff in the traditional blind spots. Traditional mirror setting tends to give drivers a similar view out all three primary mirrors. They see the area behind the car.

I just finished my coursework for certifying as a drivers ed instructor in Michigan. We also just held a CarFit clinic for seniors nearby. In both of these programs we instruct drivers how to set their mirrors according to the BGE method. BGE stands for blind spot & glare elimination. Now elimination is a bit of an overstatement. The traditional blind spots and night-time glare are greatly reduced using this method. However, it in no way is a replacement for frequent scanning and continued head checks. Bikes, pedestrians, motorcycles and others will still tend to get lost in the blind spot even when mirrors are set this way.

So, you want to give it a try? It's simple.

- Sit in the driver's seat.

- Position both of the side mirrors so that they reflect out away from the car as far as they go.

- Lean your head against the driver's side window.

- Adjust that side mirror back until you just start to view the side of your vehicle.

- Lean you head to the middle of the vehicle.

- Adjust the mirror on the passenger side back until you just start to view the side of your vehicle.

That's it. Now, it's going to seem pretty strange at first because your side mirrors will no longer show you the view you've seen in them for the last 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 + years. Try it, though. Have a friend walk into the spot beside your car that was formally missed by that mirror. You probably picked up 2 - 6 feet or more of extra viewing.

As I said, it's by no means a replacement for the physical head check, but gives a great boost to your mirror scans and extra warnings. Some drivers love it and others hate it. The drivers ed kids don't know any different and so they just think that's the way it's done (unless their parents "retrain" them).

Be safe.

Hot, Sweaty and Smiling. West Michigan’s Newest Child Passenger Safety Advocates

This child passenger safety thing is amazing. I just spent another couple of weeks helping instruct a new crop of freshly certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians in Holland, and we did that during the hottest soupiest weeks of the summer. We all loved it.

Now, the final day (day four) of Child Passenger Safety Technician training ends with four hours spent actually doing inspections and educating parents. That means spending the afternoon in the back seats of hot vehicles, reading vehicle manuals, educating parents, wrestling with stubborn vehicle belt systems, wrestling with stubborn, tired and fussy children, redoing paperwork we’ve messed up on, washing hands and cleaning up everything when done.

That’s all the stuff that the group you see in the above photo just finished doing, and, just like all of the rest of the classes I’ve been involved with, they loved it. They loved the chance to practice what they just learned, but what they really loved was the chance to educate parents and see children leaving the event safer than they arrived. Yup, the parents and kids were just as hot and uncomfortable as the technicians, but many of them expressed sincere appreciation for the services that they had just received. So, what’s not to love about that, eh?

And so, what would the new technicians like you to think about if they were speaking to you through this blog? They’d probably ask you to keep your littlest ones seated rear facing for a couple of years (or until they reach the rear facing limits of the seat they’re using), tighten the harnesses holding the precious cargo in place (since they probably haven't been tightened since winter) and use booster seats until junior is at least 4 foot 9.

Be safe.