Looking at blindspot when changing lanes

stephenjmcd

One driving instructor told me not to do this and another said do . I think I should , anyone any advice

Do it very quickly and not too far around, but certainly do it

wil

stephenjmcd wrote: »

One driving instructor told me not to do this and another said do . I think I should , anyone any advice

:eek::eek::eek:
Is that the level of instructor people still have to deal with.
Of course you check your blind spot before changing lanes, or one day you could be checking your insurance policy.
As bluewolf says, you do it fast, a quick glance in the correct spot and eventually it just becomes second nature.

Right blind spot (just behind right shoulder) when moving off, or moving to right lane,
Left blind spot (just over left shoulder) when going to inside line, turning off roundabout or crossing bike lane/bus lane.
and all blind spots when doing 3 point turn or reverse park or reverse aound corner (around, forward, left and back) Thank you Morris ADI

You'd be surprised how quickly something can move in to a blind spot without you knowing, especially if distracted by something.
Blind spot mirrors help, but the feedback from that glance is more reliable
In general you should be keeping a regular eye on the rear view mirror to preempt these surprises especially on dual carriageways.

Yes. I was driving along a straight road one day, nothing in sight for ages behind me, nothing to my side, nothing in front. Start to switch lanes for an upcoming roundabout while slowly about to turn my head over to check: get beeped out of it. Some car had come out of nowhere and was in my blind spot, lol. Since then I've always checked a lot more carefully, you really never know

Motor-Ed

wil wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek:
Is that the level of instructor people still have to deal with.
Of course you check your blind spot before changing lanes, or one day you could be checking your insurance policy.
As bluewolf says, you do it fast, a quick glance in the correct spot and eventually it just becomes second nature.

Right blind spot (just behind right shoulder) when moving off, or moving to right lane,
Left blind spot (just over left shoulder) when going to inside line, turning off roundabout or crossing bike lane/bus lane.
and all blind spots when doing 3 point turn or reverse park or reverse aound corner (around, forward, left and back) Thank you Morris ADI

You'd be surprised how quickly something can move in to a blind spot without you knowing, especially if distracted by something.
Blind spot mirrors help, but the feedback from that glance is more reliable
In general you should be keeping a regular eye on the rear view mirror to preempt these surprises especially on dual carriageways.

Guess I must be "1 of those instructors"
I cannot recommend taking your eyes from what's happening on front while travelling forward. It's possible to glance to your left or right to check blind spots but to advise turning your head further I believe is dangerous especially when you see it done on dual carriageways and motorways at speeds of 100 km +. The only time a full head turn check should be done is before car moves

ProudDUB

Motor-Ed wrote: »

Guess I must be "1 of those instructors"
I cannot recommend taking your eyes from what's happening on front while travelling forward. It's possible to glance to your left or right to check blind spots but to advise turning your head further I believe is dangerous especially when you see it done on dual carriageways and motorways at speeds of 100 km +. The only time a full head turn check should be done is before car moves

I would have thought that it would be even more important to check your blind spots on the motorway, than on regular roads. Considering the speed that every one is moving at, wouldn't it be far more likely that a car could appear "out of no where" & magically appear in your blind spot, than it would if everyone was tootling along at 40 mph?

Also, seeing as the impact from a collision would be far greater if you are going at 120 mph, than it would be if you were going at 40 mph, wouldn't it be more important to check blind spots on the motorway/carriage ways, than it would be on normal roads?

Motor-Ed

ProudDUB wrote: »

I would have thought that it would be even more important to check your blind spots on the motorway, than on regular roads. Considering the speed that every one is moving at, wouldn't it be far more likely that a car could appear "out of no where" & magically appear in your blind spot, than it would if everyone was tootling along at 40 mph?


Also, seeing as the impact from a collision would be far greater if you are going at 120 mph, than it would be if you were going at 40 mph, wouldn't it be more important to check blind spots on the motorway/carriage ways, than it would be on normal roads?

I didn't say not to check I said not to turn away from direction you're driving when checking. I wasnt discussing all the things you need to consider driving on a motorway, just this single aspect

ProudDUB

Motor-Ed wrote: »

I didn't say not to check I said not to turn away from direction you're driving when checking. I wasnt discussing all the things you need to consider driving on a motorway, just this single aspect

Yes, but in your previous post you said it was ok to just glance to your right and left to check your blind spot. Your blind spot is called your blind spot for a reason. As is out of the range of your peripheral vision & your mirrors, you can't see what is there by a simple sideways glance. Checking your blind spot does does involve turning your head to a certain degree.

Gweedling

Yes, definitely. My first ever crash a year ago was because of this. Was changing lanes on a busy road in phibsborough. Checked rear mirror, nothing. Checked wing mirror, nothing. Went to change and bumped into a car moving forward from my blind spot. No serious damage/insurance claim, only slight scratching to his mirror, scared the bejaysus out of me all the same. doing it at speed could be much more dangerous, so definitely check. I'd agree with what Motor-Ed said though, avoid turning your head all the way around as it's taking your eyes off what's in front, but a quick glance to the side/corner should be ok.

Motor-Ed

ProudDUB wrote: »

Yes, but in your previous post you said it was ok to just glance to your right and left to check your blind spot. Your blind spot is called your blind spot for a reason. As is out of the range of your peripheral vision & your mirrors, you can't see what is there by a simple sideways glance. Checking your blind spot does does involve turning your head to a certain degree.

You're missing the point Again.
A glance to the left moves your peripheral vision to pick up the blind spot.
I'm still saying that to take your vision from on front is dangerous advice.
1. You're missing any possible movement ahead eg in town a child stepping out
2 your hands will follow your head movement therefore a look over your shoulder to the left will cause you to steer a little to the left and thus move left
3 a look over the right shoulder changing lanes in town while car is moving is gaining a grade 3 fail on tests here
4 travelling at 120 kmph on a motorway you're eating up 33 metres or more than the length of an articulated lorry per second

What's going to change ahead in that distance?