Blindspot/BGE Sideview mirror Issues

[RidingOnRailz]

I have employed the blind-spot glare elimination (BGE) method of setting car side-view mirrors now for over twenty years. It is the prevailing mirror-setting technique in Europe, and is making some inroads here in North America. Here are several sources on how to achieve it:

From a well-respected driving enthusiast magazine:

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...d-blind-spots/

And from NHTSA themselves:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.go...rrormethod.pdf

I am quite used to it by now, but occasionally, I do "lose" a vehicle from the combined mirrors. I'm not talking about a Harley or a Schwinn - I'm talking a ten-wheel box truck(think Penske) in one instance, and most recently, a 2010-ish Honda Pilot!

I followed, to the letter, the technique outlined in the links to both above sources. Yet at least once per month, I find myself either honked at from the adjacent lane on an interstate, or, glancing left in the nick of time to see a rather large vehicle in the lane I am attempting to merge into, and have to yank the wheel evasively to avoid swapping paint.

My wife, a relatively conservative driver as am I, uses the traditional/American? mirror method: "three
rear-views" essentially, and told me she has never had an issue with changing lanes or merging on highways.

Please review the BGE setting methods outlined in both links above, and provide some insight as to why, occasionally, I "lose" vehicles many times the size of a two wheeler while merging or changing lanes!

[RidingOnRailz]

Alright - weekend's up!

You've had plenty of time to read and think about my problem with the side mirrors, lol!

Is it something I missed, or is it some other factors?

[RidingOnRailz]

What'd I do...?

Did I offend somebody?

....

[RidingOnRailz]

I can't believe a simple question about mirror setting got no response on a forum about CARS.

Maybe I'll share my question on a forum about gardening!

[shorod]

My only comment was going to be it sounds like either you should go back to the "traditional" way or let your wife do all the driving. Those don't feel like value-added comments though.

I have a system that works for me when daily driving and when towing my camper so I didn't even bother to look at the links provided.

-Rod

[RidingOnRailz]

Originally Posted by shorod

My only comment was going to be it sounds like either you should go back to the "traditional"
way or let your wife do all the driving. Those don't feel like value-added comments though.

I have a system that works for me when daily driving and when towing my
camper so I didn't even bother to look at the links provided.

-Rod

Well, the links provided were legit, and included the two most common ways drivers set their side view mirrors.

In the attached image, I have my mirrors set as on the right - the "BGE". And somehow, I still did not notice a 2010 Honda Pilot - a relatively large and long vehicle - until the last split second, and yanked my steering wheel and car back into the merge lane until they had passed me.

[Stealthee]

The diagram shows by doing it "the right way" you create a blind spot.

Being the design came off of reddit it's not surprising if it is some kind of troll post. The reason people do it the common way, is because it works. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[RidingOnRailz]

Originally Posted by Stealthee

The diagram shows by doing it "the right way" you create a blind spot.

Being the design came off of reddit it's not surprising if it is some kind of
troll post. The reason people do it the common way, is because it works.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Then hundreds of millions of people who use the BGE method - people in Europe, Asia, and South America - must be "trolls" also! The Porsche 911s, Honda Accords, and Mercedes S-classes they drive over there must be totally different than the same model years of those cars sold here, if most Americans set their mirrors up for 3x rear-view.

The blindspot created via BGE is much smaller than the total blindspot created by American-style mirror adjustment.

Fellow Americans: open your minds, and open the link above from the National Highway Transportation and Safety Admin. itself.

The correct method worked best, as I recall, in cars I drove from the 1990s(my 1996 Ford Contour(Mondeo in Europe)), and 2000s(my wife's Toyota Corolla). With my 2008 Kia Optima and newer vehicles, it has become more difficult to achieve BGE, owing probably to the positioning of the side view mirrors on those newer cars.

From the NHTSA link:

[Stealthee]

Yet you are losing entire vehicles using this method?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[RidingOnRailz]

Originally Posted by Stealthee

Yet you are losing entire vehicles using this method?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Again: In more recent vehicles, such as my 2010 Accord.

It's the placement of the mirrors on that car. Several inches more outboard of the door sheetmetal than they might have been on my 1996 Contour or the 2004 Corolla.

Someone on another forum said it might be the difference of our heights: he was well over 6 feet tall and sits further back than I do, at just 5' 7". So this issue might be a combination of me being a relatively short guy, combined with modern - mostly folding - mirrors which by necessity must be positioned further out from the car body to accommodate the folding feature(manual or electric).

I don't know if I shared this here, but there is a reason why Jaguar(and other overseas car makers) mounted the side
view mirrors where they did on this car:

[fredjacksonsan]

I didn't click on the links. How about using common sense to set mirrors?

Rear view centered to rear.

Side views set so that an overtaking vehicle transitions from the rear view to the side view then to peripheral vision. When passing another vehicle the same in reverse.

If you're "losing" a 10-wheel box truck your mirrors ain't even close to where they need to be. So until you have them set right, try taking a look over your shoulder.

[RidingOnRailz]

Originally Posted by fredjacksonsan

I didn't click on the links. How about using common sense to set mirrors?

Rear view centered to rear.

Side views set so that an overtaking vehicle transitions from the rear view to the
side view then to peripheral vision. When passing another vehicle the same in reverse.

If you're "losing" a 10-wheel box truck your mirrors ain't even close to where they need
to be. So until you have them set right, try taking a look over your shoulder.

Not even a link from NHTSA, a federal agency?

What you describe is what Blindspot-glare elimination is supposed to achieve:

From the drivers seat, lean left until your head touches side glass(while parked of course). Turn the left mirror outward until you see a sliver of the side of your vehicle.

Next, lean right until your head is over your armrest/center console. Turn the right side mirror outward until it also shows just a sliver of your vehicle's side.

Now, seated normally in the drivers seat, you should see none of your own vehicle in the side view mirrors.

Vehicles passing you on either side should transition from rear view to either side view, in the manner you described.

[Stealthee]

Do you realize what you are saying? You are saying this is "the right way" but I lose large trucks, you all are crazy for not following it, even though it doesn't work.

Are you trying to convince us its great? Or are you trying to convince yourself its great because it's different?

[RidingOnRailz]

Originally Posted by Stealthee

Do you realize what you are saying? You are saying this is "the right way" but I lose large trucks, you all are crazy for not following it, even though it doesn't work.

Are you trying to convince us its great? Or are you trying to convince yourself its great because it's different?

Neither.

I'm trying to find out why I'M having trouble with a mirror setting technique - used by most people around the world - in cars from model year 2010 to present.

[Stealthee]

So in other words you're trying to convince yourself it's great even though it obviously doesn't work.