Over-shoulder checks on motorways

[mrmr96]

Always do them. Anyone arguing against doing them is either misinformed, lazy or both.

[Deva Link]

First thing I used to when I got a new company car was to put blind spot mirrors on it - it makes motorway driving far far easier, and safer of course.

I opted out of company cars and bought a Merc C Class. Just one of those little tiny things that makes them better than a Mondeo/406/Vectra etc - it doesn't need blind spot mirrors - the mirrors are designed so that there isn't a blind spot.

[Munter]

mrmr96 said:

Always do them. Anyone arguing against doing them is either misinformed, lazy or both.

After trying to drive through several cars and a truck through being lazy. I can confirm that they are indeed a good idea. Even if only so you do not feel like such a tt after nearly having an accident.

[dugt]

mrmr96 said:

Always do them. Anyone arguing against doing them is either misinformed, lazy or both.

i never look behind on motorways

i also feel very uncomfortable when im a passenger and the driver does it

the one second that your head is turned, your not looking out the front, at 70mph, you will have traveled a fair distance, 105 feet in fact a lot could happen in this time,

if your mirrors are set up corectly you should, with regular checks (ie looking out the front and in mirror at same time) be able to see whats happening behind, and you wont need an over shoulder check

doug

[HRG.]

dugt said:

mrmr96 said:

Always do them. Anyone arguing against doing them is either misinformed, lazy or both.

i never look behind on motorways

i also feel very uncomfortable when im a passenger and the driver does it

the one second that your head is turned, your not looking out the front, at 70mph, you will have traveled a fair distance, 105 feet in fact a lot could happen in this time,

if your mirrors are set up corectly you should, with regular checks (ie looking out the front and in mirror at same time) be able to see whats happening behind, and you wont need an over shoulder check

doug

I always do a lifesaver (biker too) before swapping lanes. Actually found something there once so on balance I'd say it was worth all the false alarms

[Strangely Brown]

dugt said:

the one second that your head is turned, your not looking out the front, at 70mph, you will have traveled a fair distance, 105 feet in fact a lot could happen in this time

If you're not looking more than 105ft ahead whilst you're travelling at 70mph then perhaps you need to send your licence back to DVLA.

Edited by Strangely Brown on Saturday 18th July 10:47

[BertBert]

dugt said:

if your mirrors are set up corectly you should, with regular checks (ie looking out the front and in mirror at same time) be able to see whats happening behind, and you wont need an over shoulder check

doug

Indeed, you should. But for many reasons, you might not. You may be distracted, your system of regular checks may not be perfect, something may have developed that you missed. That's why the shoulder check is important. It's fail-safe as they say.

Quite some time ago, I felt the same as you. I did however have a few pulling out on people moments, like 1 every couple of years. Since I changed my driving and added in the blind-spot check, there has not been anyone there I haven't known about.

So don't do it and you need to, you do it and you don't seem to need to anymore. I know which one I have chosen.

Bert

[markswebpages]

Hi all first post here, so here goes.

Not an advanced driver however I only passed my test two and a half years ago at 30 years of age, I love cars and all things mechanical, father used to race, i just never got round to taking my test for ages.

Any who, I remember my instructor going absolutely mental when I was driving on a DC and I looked round for a split second after indicating to change lane and checking my mirror. His reaction was much the same as dugt's he said that it was unsafe due the the distance you could cover at 70 and that something in front could change quickly and I wouldn't notice during the split second I was looking round!

I however feel more comfortable doing it and I also had a near miss not long after I started driving as I didn't notice someone approaching me (going much faster then me and the speed limit) as i was about to change from L1 to L2. So I always do it now when changing lanes or whenever i feel it's appropriate really.

I'm also curios as to whether it is considered the correct thing to do in they eyes of the law or the highway code?

Sorry about the long post

[cs02rm0]

I'd rather turn my eyes away for a split second from a road I can see is clear than move into a space I can't see is clear.

I don't think there's a blind spot between my side and rear mirror (unless there's a bike right on my rear quarter maybe, in which case I'm not going to see him anyway), it's when a car's almost alongside, so I barely need to turn my head.

[HRG.]

If you're planning ahead and observing correctly you would have already calculated that there was time to perform a lifesaver. If there isn't time then don't perform the manoeuvre

[CommanderJameson]

Always do them. Once came this >< close to a moment which would have led to a very messy outcome for both me and the car I hadn't seen; we were both doing "the posted limit" and he was pulling out to pass a wagon at the exact same second as I moved back into L2 without looking over my left shoulder.

I like to think I learn from my mistakes, most of the time.

[DirtyHarry88]

Strangely Brown said:

They're called "blind-spots" for a reason too.

Edited by Strangely Brown on Wednesday 15th July 09:18

Bingo.

[Mr Will]

dugt said:

i never look behind on motorways

People turning their head all the way round (owl-style) to look behind worries me too. A correctly performed blindspot check is completely different, it is a very slight turn of the head and a glance sideways (not backwards).

[mrmr96]

Mr Will said:

dugt said:

i never look behind on motorways

People turning their head all the way round (owl-style) to look behind worries me too. A correctly performed blindspot check is completely different, it is a very slight turn of the head and a glance sideways (not backwards).

You do have to look slightly backwards though. Check out the position of this bike:


(Yes, I know the bike should know he's sat in the blindspot and should move, but I think the car driver should not make assumptions and needs to check if this area is clear or not.)

[mrmr96]

dugt said:

mrmr96 said:

Always do them. Anyone arguing against doing them is either misinformed, lazy or both.

i never look behind on motorways

i also feel very uncomfortable when im a passenger and the driver does it

the one second that your head is turned, your not looking out the front, at 70mph, you will have traveled a fair distance, 105 feet in fact a lot could happen in this time,

if your mirrors are set up corectly you should, with regular checks (ie looking out the front and in mirror at same time) be able to see whats happening behind, and you wont need an over shoulder check

doug

Doug, you fall into the 'misinformed' category. Sorry.

[Mr Will]

mrmr96 said:

...You do have to look slightly backwards though....

I know, but I was trying to emphasise the difference between a proper blindspot check and those people who swivel right round and use it as a replacement for their mirrors. It's more sideways than backwards anyway!

[mrmr96]

Mr Will said:

mrmr96 said:

...You do have to look slightly backwards though....

I know, but I was trying to emphasise the difference between a proper blindspot check and those people who swivel right round and use it as a replacement for their mirrors. It's more sideways than backwards anyway!

You're right, it is more sideways than backwards, but it's still past 90 degrees. Sorry I misunderstood the point you were making. A blind spot check, by definition, is not a replacement for checking ones mirrors.

[dugt]

mrmr96 said:

Mr Will said:

dugt said:

i never look behind on motorways

People turning their head all the way round (owl-style) to look behind worries me too. A correctly performed blindspot check is completely different, it is a very slight turn of the head and a glance sideways (not backwards).

You do have to look slightly backwards though. Check out the position of this bike:


(Yes, I know the bike should know he's sat in the blindspot and should move, but I think the car driver should not make assumptions and needs to check if this area is clear or not.)

just for the reference, i do look to the side, but i wont look behind

to me, and this is from all the people ive been on motorways with as a pasenger, the ones who turn thier head round are the ones who dont overtake fluidly, they drive up to the car infront, then look to overtake, much like you would overtake a bus that has stopped in a town

if you overtake fluidly in a nice sweep, with forward planning, looking well ahead, and in the mirrors, then i honestly dont believe you should do an over the shoulder check

doug

[Scraggles]

got a blind spot that did not realise I had, some nice silver car let me know he was there, not using lights as guess he wanted to blend in with the fog, which he did very well

now I always look over the right shoulder

[Jem Thompson]

Provided you have been observing the road properly, it should be okay to take your eyes off it for a second to check your blind spot. The probability of a child/animal running out onto the road is much lower than the chancwe that there is a car in your blind spot.

I don't think it is neccessary to do an over the shoulder check after overtaking another vehicle, at least on a dual carriageway, as you can clearly identify the gap you are pulling into.