Driving & Blind Spot

thescouselander

jc808 wrote: »

driving two years

good driver imo, no accidents

nearly got caught out yesterday

inside lane, 3 lane motoway, went to overtake lorry in inside lane, checked over my shoulder and mirrors, went to move and just before i did, a car zipped from outside lane to middle lane.

he was going a fair old speed, just goes to show, you need to check, and even if you think youre certain, its worth checking again.

dont know how i (nearly) hit him - must have been a case of 'looking but not seeing' i guess

Surely you should have seen this car coming up in your rear view mirror and anticipated they might pull in if the second lane was clear.

almillar

Although, I was taught many years ago that when you're scanning for movement (for example looking for a person moving stealthily), it can actually be better to concentrate on peripheral vision as the concentration of rods (or is it cones? can't remember now) means movement is actually better detected 'out of the corner of the eye'; so you could actually be quite aware of objects there if they're moving relative to you.

Sure thing, but you'll not see anything, moving or not, if it's in your BLIND SPOT!

- peripheral vision is measurable, and is measured in certain eye tests
- across the population there is variation
- within the variable range there is a median and an average
- some people will be well above average, and some well below.
- most people's definition of 'good' is well above average;
- you are the exception that proves the rule.

Yup. Again, no-one can see a BLIND SPOT with peripheral vision!

Strider - good example, your FPS playing. You can't see what's behind you when playing them with your peripheral vision, you have to turn around to see that. That's your blind spot! You've got mirrors in your car to help, but there are still areas you can't see without moving your head.

If your paying attention, you should always know what's going on around you.

Merging onto a road, with a brick wall beside you. You MUST look over your shoulder here, yes? What if someone is floating around in your blind spot that you don't know about?

there is no hard/fast rule.

Yes there is, ALWAYS check your blind spot!
I feel like I'm repeating myself here...

Im agaisnt looking over the shoulder checks when changing lanes. The action of turning the head leads the body and this takes the arms with it and hence the steering

WHAT?! This does NOT happen if you actually pass your driving test!

Checking over your shoulder can be dangerous and unnecessary if you've adjusted your wing mirrors correctly. If you can see the side of your car, they are far too far in and you'll have a massive blind spot. It's pointless having a big overlap between the rear view mirror and the side mirrors just because you want to check the side of your car is still there.

Your description of adjusting mirrors is right. Your assertion that over the shoulder checks is unnecessary is absolutely wrong. See above. No adjustment of your 3 mirrors can elminate blind spots.

Yes, there are exceptions, as I said.

So you ALWAYS check. Don't be lazy or smart. There's no weakness in looking over your shoulder.

anotherbaldrick

Strider590 wrote: »

Sometimes these slip lanes are a leap of faith, you have to accelerate with every bit of power your car has and make sure your entering at a speed which matches the traffic.

What panics me, is when i'm behind someone who wants to join a 70mph road, doing just 35mph, because they're scared/nervous.
Worse, i've actually come onto slip lanes around a blind bend, only to find some muppet has stopped to answer his phone JUST at the point where you'd be checking over your shoulder.

I agree, this is my philosophy, however on one recent occasion I arrived at the aforementioned junction alongside 5 or 6 articulated lorries ( this is the main road up from Portsmouth Ferry Port) all flat out nose to tail not a cars length between any of them. Had no alternative but to back the incoming traffic down to walking pace till they had all sped through. Self preservation , they say drive defensively (and look over your shoulder when necessary)

jc808

Strider590 wrote: »

You can also use this to your advantage sometimes if the driver is being a c**k. :cool:



You can't account for people who fail to observe what's going on in the other lanes, he should have seen that you were approaching a truck and would soon need to change lane. But equally you needed to be indicating much earlier.

definitely mate - good thing about near misses is it gives you the opportunity to learn

jc808

thescouselander wrote: »

Surely you should have seen this car coming up in your rear view mirror and anticipated they might pull in if the second lane was clear.

what i was thinking too, not sure how i missed him!!

as a said, 'looking but not seeing'

adouglasmhor

Geodark wrote: »

I used to ride motorbikes as well as drive, and that look over your shoulder before you do anything is called a "Lifesaver" for a reason.

I am possibly a much older biker, we called it a suicide check before it became a lifesaver.

adouglasmhor

James_B. wrote: »

That's quite a worrying thing to think. As pointed out above, none of us have "good " peripheral vision The brain fills in a vast amount of detail by interpolating, giving you the impression that your vision is good here, but it'd take a weird genetic abnormality for you to genuinely have much better than average vision and perception out there.

Well you be the judge.

adouglasmhor

Strider590 wrote: »

Go back, look at the images posted.... Where is the blindspot?
Now your telling me you need to spin your head 180 degrees to see that?

Not only this, but if your paying proper attention NOTHING should ever get into your blindspots without you knowing, everything has to pass a visible point, you should be spatially aware enough to know exactly where everything is.

Which is why one of my pet hates is people doing stuff at the wheel of their car, be that using a phone, chatting with a passenger, mucking about with the radio, smoking, eating, drinking, etc etc etc. All of those things could allow something to enter a blindspot without your brain registering it. If your paying attention, you should always know what's going on around you.

180 degrees would mean you were facing straight backwards.

crispy_chris

adouglasmhor wrote: »

180 degrees would mean you were facing straight backwards.

That's his point

mjoneseyjones

crispy_chris wrote: »

That's his point

What's his point?

That if for some bizarre reason people started driving with their heads facing backwards it would be dangerous? No to mention an impressive bit of contortionism?

Give that man a medal, I think he's on to something.