How To Properly Set Up Your Car's Mirrors:

Does your car have a blind spot? Probably not, actually, but you may have to move outside your comfort zone in order to eliminate the blind spots around your car. With this setup, on both of my cars, there is not a space where a motorcyclist can be invisible as they go around either side. A car or truck is plainly visible at all times.

The rear-view mirror: set it so the view in the mirror is centered on the backlight. You don't need it to see your children, your hair, your makeup, or your driving companion. Your rearview mirror on the front windscreen is to allow you to see clearly out the back of the car. Center the mirror side to side and top to bottom, so that it shows as much of that back window as possible.

Side mirrors: These are not to show you a view of your own car. You should already know where that is. They are not to show you the lane markings on either side of your car. These are to show you the stuff happening in the blind spots on the sides of your car. Go to a flat parking lot or level stretch of road. Set the side mirror vertical adjustments so that the horizon behind the car is in the middle of the mirror. Then rotate the mirrors out, away from the car. Rotate them out horizontally until you can't see your car AT ALL. Then rotate them just a little bit back in, so that if you move your head an inch or two to the side, you can see the side of your car in that mirror.

If you really need to see what's happening on the ground when you park, or if you find that this is not enough mirror action, get a couple of stick-on fisheye mirrors and put them on the side view mirrors in accordance with the instructions on the package.

The other adjustment is to your neck. When you are about to change lanes or back up, turn it. Look around. "I didn't see her" doesn't bring back a little kid you just ran over.

To most people who are unused to having their mirrors set this way, this will create a very unnerving driving experience for about a week. Then you will find that you have become accustomed to not having blind spots around your car. Congratulations, you are now a safer driver.