Blind Spot Mirrors

[gbuckham]

Had a biker come upon me suddenly yesterday, just as I was about to pull out to overtake and luckily I saw him when I gave a final look over the shoulder. Now I’m looking for ways to improve my view to the raer, perhaps with some additional “blind spot” mirrors.

Would welcome hearing what others have come up with or any products they have come across.

Gary
BMW R1200GS

 

[minkyhead]

i think it would be folly to try and replace a direct observation ie shoulder check with auxilery mirror/s not wanting to to sound condesending but the solution is in your own question ... back to basics rember your cbt if of course you hade one(depending on age )
lifesaver before you move your bike into any space or turn
job done
...mirrors to look behind.... shoulder check for the blind spot
in the road craft manual police riders consider several things on the approach to bends obstructions overtakes ect the only thing that is compulsory is the shoulder check ..and no im not a plod but have done the advanced course
..you have demonstrated to yourself its worth by avoiding the collision forget the extra mirror keep doing those lifesavers
dont even think about the mirror thing what if its misted up or worse the alligment moves without you knowing ...
when the bike is leaning even slightly you will only spot low flying aircraft
it will never have the depth of your own vision on somthing like a three or four lane carriagway we have all seenand maby done the slip road to outside lane at speed
once you start choosing weather its a mirror check or a shouder check somthing at some point its going to go wrong
..in good faith steve dsa instructor

 

[jonothan]

Not, of course, forgetting that any switched-on, forward-thinking and observant rider who was about to overtake you when you yourself were behind a slower vehicle would (should) in turn have realised

1) that you might pull out to overtake

2) that you might not do a life-saver and

3) that you might have him in your blind spot

and would (should) perform such a manoeuvre and, in so doing, leave room in his forward planning for such an eventuality.

But it makes you stop and think - not everyone would be so switched-on.

J

 

[minkyhead]

not to mention he/she could be a spoon head that just wants to buzz you for kicks

Not, of course, forgetting that any switched-on, forward-thinking and observant rider who was about to overtake you when you yourself were behind a slower vehicle would (should) in turn have realised

1) that you might pull out to overtake

2) that you might not do a life-saver and

3) that you might have him in your blind spot

and would (should) perform such a manoeuvre and, in so doing, leave room in his forward planning for such an eventuality.

But it makes you stop and think - not everyone would be so switched-on.

J

 

[jonothan]

not to mention he/she could be a spoon head that just wants to buzz you for kicks

Yeah, too right. Don't you just hate it when they do that?

J

 

[gbuckham]

A blind spot mirror should be used as an additional aid to rear observation. I follow the police system at all times and together with frequent mirror checks, use a life saver when the situation dictates. A wide angle mirror mounted on the handlebars (in addition to the existing mirrors) greatly increases rear-ward observation and can only be a benefit to road safety.

Gary

 

[Room 101]

I think it was a Rapid Training course... where we were told that mirror observations when traveling 'at speed' are paramount... i.e. motorways...

We were told that a shoulder check can take a long time in distance traveled... in other words you've observed that the traffic is in a certain position ahead... you then check your shoulder or blind spot.. by which time you may have traveled 20meters or more by the time you look forward again...

It was just a 'food for thought' statement during the training... they wanted to make you aware that manouvers have to be calculated well in advance in case the circumstances ahead take on a different appearance after checking your blind spot...

 

[minkyhead]

I think it was a Rapid Training course... where we were told that mirror observations when traveling 'at speed' are paramount... i.e. motorways...

We were told that a shoulder check can take a long time in distance traveled... in other words you've observed that the traffic is in a certain position ahead... you then check your shoulder or blind spot.. by which time you may have traveled 20meters or more by the time you look forward again...

It was just a 'food for thought' statement during the training... they wanted to make you aware that manouvers have to be calculated well in advance in case the circumstances ahead take on a different appearance after checking your blind spot...

threres some confusion here on what a shoulder check entails
you use your mirrors to see whats behind...
the shoulder check only entails
checking the blind spot ..when doing this it is possible to effectivly check the blind spot and retain vision to the front
if you have no vision to the front you are turning your head to far
if you turn your head to far it is likley the bike will move off line in that direction no matter how expirainced you are or how much you concentrate
the point is that the mirrors are for the view behind the shoulder check
is for the blind spot
if you sit on your bike and get somone to walk up behind you when you loose sight of them turn your head slowly so you can identify how far you need to move your head to effectivly check the blind spot without loosing forward vision as i say if your loosing all forward vision you are overdoing it
as room 101 correctly says a lot can happen if you loose the view to the front
30mph = 45feet per second ect ect
by the way i hope you are felling a1 again and ill try to stop sounding like atext book as soon as the thread finishes

 

[minkyhead]

A blind spot mirror should be used as an additional aid to rear observation. I follow the police system at all times and together with frequent mirror checks, use a life saver when the situation dictates. A wide angle mirror mounted on the handlebars (in addition to the existing mirrors) greatly increases rear-ward observation and can only be a benefit to road safety.

Gary

sorry garry but cant except that a second mirror can replace the shoulder check
if it is not replacing the shoulder check its useless.
you would fail every accepted ministry test from cbt level upwards ..no question

ie osm psl obsevation[shoulder check ].. siganal... manover ...position speed... lifesaver thats the system so
now we have
mirror.. 2nd mirror.. signal.. manover.. position ..speed.. mirror.. 2nd ..mirror

we have replaced two direct obsrevations with..4 mirror checks and still can not be as sure of whats around us so ????

you can not trust a mirror to replace the information you would get from adirect look
lifesavers are compusory in the police systym and can not be left at to discretion ..period

 

[The Bede]

Good Grief ...

sorry garry but cant except that a second mirror can replace the shoulder check
if it is not replacing the shoulder check its useless.
you would fail every accepted ministry test from cbt level upwards ..no question

....

you can not trust a mirror to replace the information you would get from adirect look
lifesavers are compusory in the police systym and can not be left at to discretion ..period

... swallowed a whole rule book, glass of water?

Try adjusting your mirrors so that the RHS (offside) covers the wide right rear-view ... thus eliminating the blind spot. Set the LHS (nearside) to cover the long rear view.

Reverse orientation when driving in foreign parts.

I do use a final quick life-saver 'cos I don't want to lose the habit should I change to a bike with "elbow" mirrors, but I've NEVER found anything there that I didn't already have covered by my incredibly, cleverly ... nay geniusly arranged mirrors.

 

[JFC]

self preservation

after 2-lane autobahns for many miles (lane 1 55-60mph, lane 2 ??) arranged mirrors to eliminate blind spot as described above - bikes and cars coming up so fast that no matter how often checked mirror I was regularly surprised by an overtake (something passed me and I didn't even know it had been behind me) - a porsche passed me at what must have been 150mph+

anyway, forget mirrors (a 1960's lambretta wouldn't have had enough to make me sure nothing was behind), blind spots and trtaining/manual definitions I find natural preservation takes over and you will look behind just to make sure

naturally dont drive into the back of something

too old to have done the cbt but I have travelled with many riders who demonstrate the 'lifesaver twitch' which I think means flick your head before turning, I recommend that you look behind and change direction predictably

your choice...

 

[minkyhead]

QUOTE
swallowed a whole rule book, glass of water?

YUP CAPTAIN SENSIBLE THATS ME... BUT THEN IVE ONLY BEEN RIDING 40 YEARS AND TAKEN THREE STAGED ADVANCED COURSES OF WHICH I MUST DEFEND
I KNOW NOTHING IM FROM BARCALONA

http://media.putfile.com/LIFESAVER

http://media.putfile.com/new-trf-putofile46


STILL SAYMIRROR AND NO NO LIFSAVER IS BOLLOCKS ..BUT OF COURSE COURSE I NEVER TAKE A RISK ???...JUST DO THEM ..PLEASE i enjoy my bikes and firmly belive if you take one thing from any course you do ..look before you turn ..thats all im trying to get accross really

 

[minkyhead]

QUOTE
I've NEVER found anything there that I didn't already have covered by my incredibly, cleverly ... nay geniusly arranged mirrors.



..then again if you dont look every time how can you possibly know ??

I NEVER FOUND ANYTHING THERE I DIDNT ALREADY HAVE COVERED BY TURNING MY HEAD AND HAVING A LOOK ..not true but im glad i looked


quote
I do use a final quick life-saver 'cos I don't want to lose the habit
.why not lose the funny mirrors and have a proper look ..one less job as well as being correct seems logical ?..thats it im going back to being silly again now .......ill just turn my head to make sure its ok

GO HEAD THEN LAD ..SHOW US YER MIRRORS

 

[gbuckham]

Would someone please tell me where I've stated in this thread that I'm substituting shoulder checks for looking in a mirror?

Gary

 

[Trip]

Nobody has suggested that shoulder checks are not essential. However, on a motorway I like to monitor traffic all around me even when I'm not about to do something. You never know when having an up-to-date mental model of all the vehicles in your vicinity might be very useful. The 'blind spot' with the R12GS mirrors is substantial and a car overtaking me disappears from view for an uncomfortably long time before appearing in my peripheral vision. (The suggestion about adjusting one mirror to cover that spot and the other for long backward view is exactly what I do.)

So a question about blind spot mirrors does not imply that anybody is too lazy to perform a shoulder check. It's just a question about mirrors. I'd be interested in suggestions on this too.

Trip

 

[Vern]

Gary,I'll presume that you can get from A to B on a motorbike without killing yourself to many times,so try Halfords for the mirrors.They do 2-3 different types that you can fit to the original mirror stalks.They also used to do some little sticky ones,about the size of a 2p piece,that you could stick to the mirror itself.

There you go

 

[The Bede]

QUOTE
I've NEVER found anything there that I didn't already have covered by my incredibly, cleverly ... nay geniusly arranged mirrors.

..then again if you dont look every time how can you possibly know ??

... Erm ... 'cos I do look and therefore have never found anything there I wasn't expecting!

 

[WindyChuffer]

i dont think any one is saying that mirrors should replace a lifesaver check. Mirrors should be used to complement, and never relied upon. But the more info you have from those mirrors, the better....simple eh?

Surely the post experienced plod would agree with that?

 

[Tim Cullis]

Blind spot? What blind spot?

I always have my mirrors positioned so that I'm never surprised by over/undertakes. It means I have to tilt my head to see directly behind me.

Tim

 

[STUBBS]

shouldn't the recovery truck supply there own