What Are Blind Spots and How to Check Them?

When behind the wheels, you have to be spot-on with your driving techniques. From staying alert to wearing the seatbelt and pushing the brake at the right time, each contributes to making you a pro and defensive driver. And when talking about driving skills and techniques, it’s a must we mention the importance of identifying the blind spots of your vehicle as well as others. Simply using your peripheral vision will not help you check blind spots. Hence, we share with you some tricks from our best driving school in Blacktown that will help you identify blind spots when driving on the road.

What are blind spots?

So, what exactly are blind spots? Let us clear the basics first. Well, blind spots are the areas you can’t see either while checking the mirrors or looking ahead of you. Where are the blind spots located? They comprise the areas what you can see in the exterior mirror when looking forward. Also, the area hidden behind the bodywork of your car that you can’t see from the mirrors can be considered blind spots.

Checking blind spots

Checking blind spots is challenging and you need sufficient practice to manoeuvre your car accordingly. It’s not something you can master overnight. Thus, we, the best driving school in Blacktown, train our students from the basics to advanced techniques, including the art of checking blind spots. Whether you are on the move or coming to halt, checking blind spots is important so that you don’t end up colliding or hitting a vehicle in an area you can’t see.

So here are some tips that will help you perform the additional checks (apart from checking the mirrors) before you decide to manoeuvre your car.

Moving off

While you check the mirror to see activities behind your car, turn around a bit in between to look over the right shoulder before making your move. Keep up with this simultaneous checking unless you have manoeuvred the car as you desired. Today, some cars come with ‘assistive technology’ like reverse-assist alarms to reduce blind spots. You may rely to an extent on this technology but check manually to be doubly sure before moving off.

While moving

When you are on the move, it will not be feasible to turn around and check because your focus should be on the road ahead of you. Just keep your eyes on the mirrors and take quick glances of the sideways once in a while. Be mindful of the same while changing lanes, before joining a motorway, or during the merging traffic. Along with that, you must also recognise the blind spots of other drivers’ vehicles. Avoid remaining in their blind spots for a very long time so that they can manoeuvre their cars easily.

Conclusion

It’s not that only aggressive or distracted driving can lead to road mishaps. Even a defensive driver can meet with an accident if he is not checking his blind spots every now and then. Like all other driving techniques and rules, you have to be diligent about checking the blind spots. Think you need professional training from certified instructors to hone your skills? As the best driving school in Blacktown, we train you in every aspect of driving to turn you into a responsible driver. To join our BTB Driving School, contact the team today.

What Are Blind Spots and How to Check Them?