Checking Your Blind Spots: When and How to Do It

Checking your blind spots is one of the simplest habits you can build, and one of the most important. Blind spots are the areas around your car that your mirrors do not cover, and they are large enough to hide a whole vehicle. They are most dangerous when you move off and when you change lanes, because a car, bike or motorbike can sit exactly where you cannot see it. The good news is that clearing them takes a fraction of a second once it becomes routine. Below we cover where your blind spots are, when to check them, and how to do it properly on the road and in your test.

Your mirrors show most of what is happening behind you, as long as they are set up correctly. But there are zones they never quite reach, and parts of your own car block your view too. Those hidden areas are your blind spots.

Every car has two main blind spots, though their size varies with the shape of the vehicle:

• Diagonally behind you. You can see traffic further back in your rear and side mirrors, but as a vehicle pulls up alongside you it drops out of view.
• Diagonally in front of you. The bodywork of your car, especially the A-pillars either side of the windscreen, hides sections of the road ahead.

You should stay aware of your surroundings at all times, mostly by watching the road ahead and checking your mirrors regularly. But there are specific moments when a mirror check is not enough and you need to turn your head:

• Before moving off. Make sure you are not pulling out into someone.
• Before changing lanes. Whether you are overtaking or moving across for a junction, a driver or cyclist may have come up beside you. On motorways the picture can change in seconds while others are also changing lanes, so mirrors alone are not enough.
• When another vehicle is merging into your lane. Traffic joining from a slip road needs a clear gap. Check you are not blocking it, and adjust your speed or position if you are.
• Before turning into a side road. This matters most just after you have passed a cyclist, who may be close behind you and carrying straight on.
• At junctions. Your A-pillars can hide traffic coming from either side, so make your observation checks count before you commit.

The check itself is easy: look over your shoulder. Make sure the road is clear out of your side window and out of the back passenger window.

Practise turning your head while you are stationary in the driver's seat, so you know exactly where to look once you are moving. It quickly becomes a natural part of your observation routine.

Moving off

Before pulling away from the kerb, check all around you. In your lessons you will learn to do this in a clockwise sweep:

1. Over your left shoulder
2. Left wing mirror
3. Rear-view mirror
4. Right wing mirror
5. Over your right shoulder

You do not always have time to check your mirrors before an emergency stop. That is exactly why you should take extra care to check both blind spots and all your mirrors before moving off again.

Check all three mirrors before moving off in slow traffic. You do not need full shoulder checks here, but stay alert to cyclists or motorcyclists who may have filtered up alongside you while you were stopped.

The pillars either side of your windscreen can hide traffic at junctions:

• Slow down on the approach so you have time to look properly.
• Move your head slightly forward to see past the A-pillars.
• Look left and right at least twice to give any moving vehicle time to appear.

Most of the time you should face forward, because turning your head too much affects your steering and lane position. When you change lanes or someone merges into yours, combine mirrors with a shoulder check:

1. Rear-view mirror first
2. Then the relevant wing mirror
3. Finally a glance over your shoulder

That sequence covers the whole area behind you, so you can move across safely without cutting anyone up.

If you fail to check your blind spots when moving off during the test, you will pick up a driving fault. If your missed check creates a genuinely dangerous situation, it becomes a serious fault, which is an automatic fail. Examiners watch for this closely, so make your checks obvious rather than rushed.