Setting the mirrors properly is one of the most important tasks you have to complete before getting on the road.
Nearly 90% of the information we use when driving is visual, coming from the eyes, which makes our eyes the most important safety feature we have.
If you, as a truck driver are unable to see whats behind or adjacent to your vehicle it increases immensely the chances of you getting into an accident.
If you’re an owner-operator or any kind of a truck driver or just a regular driver you should know how to set the mirrors of your vehicle correctly.
Sometimes drivers may set their mirrors in such a position that it shows much more than needed from their vehicle instead of the cars behind them on the road. So we advise you to check that your fleet drivers are aware of how to properly set their side mirrors.
The correct way for setting the side mirrors of a vehicle is:
- Adjust the driver’s seat exactly where it will be during the trip.
- Lean to your left and look in your left mirror. Adjust the left mirror so that you see just a tiny amount of your own vehicle in the edge of the left mirror.
- Lean to your right and look in your right mirror. Adjust the right mirror so that you see just a tiny amount of your own vehicle in the edge of the right mirror.
Using this method will ensure that you as a driver will get the full field off view out of both mirrors. The cars behind you – three lanes wide – should be visible in at least one mirror.
Having properly set the mirrors does not guarantee anything, because there will still be blind spots, which means not all is visible in the rear mirrors and the two side mirrors.
Approximately 840,000 blind spot collisions happen in the U.S. annually, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, so now is the time to also remind your drivers to avoid a blind-spot collision with a simple quick over-the-shoulder check before changing lanes.