After several years of promoting a sideview mirror setting technique, known in some circles as “BGE”(Blind spot-glare-elimination), (the glare being of the headlights of cars behind you after darkwhere your mirrors are panned out super wide, I have decided to strike a compromise.
Google the BGE method for yourself, and you will see it requires leaning your head above your center console and panning that side view mirror out until you seem just a sliver your right rear vendee. Ditto the driver mirror: Leaning until your head contacts the dirvers window, and panning that side out
In modern cars, this technique is not as effective, due to the far out placement of the mirrors, compared to older cars.
Using BGE, which is in common use in Europe, I have nearly changed lanes into, or merged into, the sides of more vehicles than you can imagine!
My compromise then? Pan the sideview mirrors out until the rear fenders of my car just disappear in them, while sitting upright in the drivers seat(no leaning this way or that).
Sideview mirrors should not be mounted on the front doors of a car anyhow – They belong forward, on the front left & right fenders, where the driver can see everything in them, that is along side their vehicle.
…’My compromise then? Pan the sideview mirrors out until the rear fenders of my car just disappear in them, while sitting upright in the drivers seat (no leaning this way or that)’…
Right, that’s pretty much what the instructor told/taught me at the very beginning of my first (official…) driving lesson. Especially in the left sideview mirror (LHD car-driving right) you’re not supposed to see anything of your own car when sitting straigth up in the seat and just turn your head to check the sideview mirror.
From the NHTSA(National Highway Traffic & Safety Admin) themselves:
“Using the BGE Setting:
The BGE setting requires turning the field of view of each outside mirror
outward by about 15 degrees from the blindzone setting.
For the driver’s side mirror, this can be done by placing your head against
the side window as shown in Graphic C and then setting the mirror to just
see the side of the car.
Graphic C
Do the same with the passenger’s side mirror, but position your head
at the middle of the car. You should next check to see that the blindzones
are truly eliminated.
From the normal driving position, watch a car as it passes you. It should
appear in the outside mirror before it leaves the inside mirror, and it should appear in your peripheral vision before leaving the outside mirror. This is
your proof that the blindzones have been eliminated and that your
mirrors are correctly set.
When changing lanes with the BGE setting, you must first look in the
inside mirror for vehicles approaching from the rear, then glance at the
outside mirror to see if a vehicle is in the blindzone.”
I followed the above instructions, to the letter, yet every so often am ‘surprised’ to find a vehicle – of any size: motorcycle, sedan, UPS truck – exactly where the BGE technique is supposed to identify them! Usually right alongside of me and most often to my left.
I then have to yank my car rightward to avoid a paint-swap.
The BGE method seems most effective in older cars with the side view mirror less than one inch from the drivers and passenger door glass. Nowadays, even in sedans, the sideview mirror glass inner edge begins more than three inches out from those windows.
It is also most effective with semi-tractor trailers, and large(50 seat) bus and coaches – because a portion of such long vehicles is visible in both the rear view, sideview mirrror, and glancing to your side.
What we are trying to encourage is a mirror setup where one sees the same vehicle behind them in all three mirrors (three rearview effect).
“What we are trying to ***DISCOURAGE*** among drivers is a mirror setup where one sees the same vehicle behind them in all three mirrors (three rearview effect).”
Stephen Ritchings
Posted August 4, 2024 at 6:55 PM
At times I have had the option of editing—within a given timeframe ?—a post I’ve made here. At other times (like the present) that option isn’t on offer. Not sure what to make of this . . .
Another good way to confirm good mirror orientation: as you see a car approach from behind in an adjacent lane to pass, at some point you should be able to see one headlight in your central interior mirror and the other headlight in your exterior mirror on that side.
“…you should be able to see one headlight in your central
interior mirror and the other headlight in your exterior mirror
on that side.”
That is precisely the intent of both BGE, and what Johannes was taught in his drivers ed.
Alas, at least in my case, the “full lean” BGE setting method I linked to above does not *always* work – with a vehicle ‘suddenly appearing’ out of nowhere alongside me, and myself – and possibly that other driver – having to take evasive action, often at highway speeds, or at least ramping speeds of over 40mph.
I learned the BGE method years ago and find it does help, though I never knew the name. I also trying to follow the Dutch practice of looking over my shoulder for bicyclists before opening my door. Which by the way should also be the practice for passengers, to avoid hitting pedestrians on narrow sidewalks.
Many online also never heard of BGE before, and think I made the name up! I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick that football – can’t win!
Needless to say, I’m going back to a hybrid of full BGE and “three rear views”:
Making my rear fenders just disappear from my side view mirrors while seated upright and just turning my head toward each mirror while adjusting it, before an accident happens(!)
“Isn’t one’s breadth of view–to say nothing of
the size of the image–dramatically reduced as
the mirror moves further from the eye ?”
That can be compensated for, to a point, with a certain range of convexity.
Your car’s present passenger side-view mirror is very likely slightly convex in cross section. That is why you see a wider angle view in it, as well as the legal disclaimer along the bottom edge of the reflective surface: “OBJECTS MAY BE CLOSER….”
But for me, sideview mirrors, in their present location at the leading edge of the front driver and passenger doors, are in an unnatural location to achieve 90 percent or better blindspot elimination.
Moving them half way down the lengths of a car’s front fenders would achieve that goal most effectively:
After several years of promoting a sideview mirror setting technique, known in some circles as “BGE”(Blind spot-glare-elimination), (the glare being of the headlights of cars behind you after darkwhere your mirrors are panned out super wide, I have decided to strike a compromise.
Google the BGE method for yourself, and you will see it requires leaning your head above your center console and panning that side view mirror out until you seem just a sliver your right rear vendee. Ditto the driver mirror: Leaning until your head contacts the dirvers window, and panning that side out
In modern cars, this technique is not as effective, due to the far out placement of the mirrors, compared to older cars.
Using BGE, which is in common use in Europe, I have nearly changed lanes into, or merged into, the sides of more vehicles than you can imagine!
My compromise then? Pan the sideview mirrors out until the rear fenders of my car just disappear in them, while sitting upright in the drivers seat(no leaning this way or that).
Sideview mirrors should not be mounted on the front doors of a car anyhow – They belong forward, on the front left & right fenders, where the driver can see everything in them, that is along side their vehicle.
…’My compromise then? Pan the sideview mirrors out until the rear fenders of my car just disappear in them, while sitting upright in the drivers seat (no leaning this way or that)’…
Right, that’s pretty much what the instructor told/taught me at the very beginning of my first (official…) driving lesson. Especially in the left sideview mirror (LHD car-driving right) you’re not supposed to see anything of your own car when sitting straigth up in the seat and just turn your head to check the sideview mirror.
Johannes:
From the NHTSA(National Highway Traffic & Safety Admin) themselves:
“Using the BGE Setting:
The BGE setting requires turning the field of view of each outside mirror
outward by about 15 degrees from the blindzone setting.
For the driver’s side mirror, this can be done by placing your head against
the side window as shown in Graphic C and then setting the mirror to just
see the side of the car.
Graphic C
Do the same with the passenger’s side mirror, but position your head
at the middle of the car. You should next check to see that the blindzones
are truly eliminated.
From the normal driving position, watch a car as it passes you. It should
appear in the outside mirror before it leaves the inside mirror, and it should appear in your peripheral vision before leaving the outside mirror. This is
your proof that the blindzones have been eliminated and that your
mirrors are correctly set.
When changing lanes with the BGE setting, you must first look in the
inside mirror for vehicles approaching from the rear, then glance at the
outside mirror to see if a vehicle is in the blindzone.”
Link:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/blindzoneglaremirrormethod.pdf
I followed the above instructions, to the letter, yet every so often am ‘surprised’ to find a vehicle – of any size: motorcycle, sedan, UPS truck – exactly where the BGE technique is supposed to identify them! Usually right alongside of me and most often to my left.
I then have to yank my car rightward to avoid a paint-swap.
The BGE method seems most effective in older cars with the side view mirror less than one inch from the drivers and passenger door glass. Nowadays, even in sedans, the sideview mirror glass inner edge begins more than three inches out from those windows.
It is also most effective with semi-tractor trailers, and large(50 seat) bus and coaches – because a portion of such long vehicles is visible in both the rear view, sideview mirrror, and glancing to your side.
What we are trying to encourage is a mirror setup where one sees the same vehicle behind them in all three mirrors (three rearview effect).
Correction:
That should be DISCOURAGE!
My last sentence should read
“What we are trying to ***DISCOURAGE*** among drivers is a mirror setup where one sees the same vehicle behind them in all three mirrors (three rearview effect).”
At times I have had the option of editing—within a given timeframe ?—a post I’ve made here. At other times (like the present) that option isn’t on offer. Not sure what to make of this . . .
Thanks TTW, I hereby declare you the Daniel Stern Of Mirrors!
Regarding heavy trucks and semis, completely ‘mirror-free’ becomes more and more common.
Another good way to confirm good mirror orientation: as you see a car approach from behind in an adjacent lane to pass, at some point you should be able to see one headlight in your central interior mirror and the other headlight in your exterior mirror on that side.
SubGothius wrote:
“…you should be able to see one headlight in your central
interior mirror and the other headlight in your exterior mirror
on that side.”
That is precisely the intent of both BGE, and what Johannes was taught in his drivers ed.
Alas, at least in my case, the “full lean” BGE setting method I linked to above does not *always* work – with a vehicle ‘suddenly appearing’ out of nowhere alongside me, and myself – and possibly that other driver – having to take evasive action, often at highway speeds, or at least ramping speeds of over 40mph.
I learned the BGE method years ago and find it does help, though I never knew the name. I also trying to follow the Dutch practice of looking over my shoulder for bicyclists before opening my door. Which by the way should also be the practice for passengers, to avoid hitting pedestrians on narrow sidewalks.
No real person was hurt:
dman:
Many online also never heard of BGE before, and think I made the name up! I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick that football – can’t win!
Needless to say, I’m going back to a hybrid of full BGE and “three rear views”:
Making my rear fenders just disappear from my side view mirrors while seated upright and just turning my head toward each mirror while adjusting it, before an accident happens(!)
Isn’t one’s breadth of view–to say nothing of the size of the image–dramatically reduced as the mirror moves further from the eye ?
“Isn’t one’s breadth of view–to say nothing of
the size of the image–dramatically reduced as
the mirror moves further from the eye ?”
That can be compensated for, to a point, with a certain range of convexity.
Your car’s present passenger side-view mirror is very likely slightly convex in cross section. That is why you see a wider angle view in it, as well as the legal disclaimer along the bottom edge of the reflective surface: “OBJECTS MAY BE CLOSER….”
But for me, sideview mirrors, in their present location at the leading edge of the front driver and passenger doors, are in an unnatural location to achieve 90 percent or better blindspot elimination.
Moving them half way down the lengths of a car’s front fenders would achieve that goal most effectively:
https://petrolicious.com/articles/which-classic-cars-pulled-off-fender-mirrors-best