Originally Posted by
greaterbrown
… Unfortunately, if a car is going to hit you from behind, there really isn't much you can do about it. As Slan observes,
the mirror view of a car approaching quickly from behind distracts from what is in front and to the side of me- the very stuff I CAN make maneuvers to avoid.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
… In June of 2012 I was hit from behind (while wearing a mirror) and was in the hospital for six weeks. I did not see it coming in my mirror, perhaps because I was on a wide, lightly traveled, low-speed-limit residential road. Perhaps I may have been able to bail out, but If I had seen it, I surely would be traumatized with PTSD. Maybe I might have stiffened up and suffered more damage.
I have confidently resumed my commuting because, even as before the acccident, I am much more secure with my rearview mirrors.
The chance that an upcoming car is coming to hit you, as you approach an obstacle is much much less than the chance that you are approaching an obstacle, and have no idea what’s coming up from behind, especially on a heavily traveled, perhaps narrow road.
Without a mirror one can:
- depend their hearing, which may not well discriminate the position of an upcoming car with a lot of background noise, and still keep their eye on the obstacle
- turn your head as quickly as possible to minimize losing sight of the obstacle, and hope your quick glance with mostly peripheral vision adequately assesses your behind, and does not cause you to drift leftwards as you rotate your torso
With a mirror one can listen, glance behind without rotation, keep control of the forward direction, keep the head looking forward toward the obstacle, and only require a shift of the eyes.
Furthermore, I'm usually monitoring traffic behind me to minimize surprises.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
…I regularly though not excessively monitor the traffic behind me and I’m usually aware of the situation, including my usual blind spot with the mirror. I determine that blind spot to be about, say 8 feet wide and about 20 feet long, to my immediate left and behind.
Jim’s Law of the Road: “No matter how well-paved or lightly-traveled the Road, a vehicle is likely to pass on the left as you encounter an obstacle on the right.”