So you’ve heard the term blind spots but you’ve no idea what it means? Basically they are the areas that you can’t see by looking forward or in your mirrors. This creates a problem as there could be something alongside you that you can’t see. Generally the bigger the vehicle, the bigger the blind spots so we need to think about other people’s blind spots as well as our own.
How do we deal with them? Whenever you are stopped you are free to look around and you should be checking the relevant blind spot just before moving off. So if you are parked on the left check the right hand side and if you are parked on the right check the left hand side. You will need to turn your head to look out of the rear side window to see fully into the blind spot. When you are moving this isn’t safe as you will take your eyes of the road ahead and your steering may be affected. In this case use your mirrors more and check out of the front side window so you can see partially into the blind spot. Take care not to drive in other people’s blind spots for too long – this is slightly behind and to one side of them (with cars). You will pass through blind spots when overtaking or when others are overtaking you so be prepared. If it takes a long time to overtake, the vehicle you are passing may not be visible for a few seconds so make sure you remember it’s there!
