Driver Safety
What can you see in your mirrors?
There is hardly a day that goes by without reports of at least one or two tragic motor vehicle accidents. In fact in 2008 1,463 people were killed in motor vehicle related accidents in Australia and many more are seriously injured.
While these figures are shocking, it is worth noting that there are thousands more minor motor vehicle incidents every day. And while advertising campaigns and driver safety programs, quite rightly, focus on reducing the road death toll the costs associated with injuries, repairs and time off the road as a result of these more minor accidents can be significant to both individuals as well as fleet operators.
So how can accidents, both major and minor, be avoided? According to Rod Chapman of Australian Fleet Services, “Positioning your rear vision mirrors correctly may help.”
Adjusting your rear vision mirrors
Correctly adjusting your mirrors can minimise blind spots. If your mirrors are positioned properly vehicles directly behind you should only be visible in the internal rear vision mirror. Overtaking vehicles should disappear from the internal mirror and become visible in the appropriate external side mirror.
-
Internal rear vision mirror
Ideally, your central rear vision mirror should be adjusted so that you can see most, if not all of your rear window. If you cannot see all of your rear window but can see some of the interior of your vehicle your mirror is not correctly positioned.
- External rear vision mirrors
You do not need to have a constant view of the side of your vehicle from your external side mirrors. Ideally, these mirrors need to be fanned out so that you have a wide area of vision.
If your external mirrors are correctly positioned you should only be able to view very small portions of the rear side panels of your car when your tilt your head to either side.
It is important to remember that small blind spots will still exist so a final head check to confirm it is safe to merge or change lanes is necessary.
For more information contact:
Carolyn Taylor
(02) 9494 1000
ctaylor@sgfleet.com
< back to news