by 112263, August 19, 2004
I recently bought some blind spot mirrors for my C orolla. Those are the little round mirrors that stick on to the two side mirrors on either side of the car. The idea is that the little round mirrors show the blind spot that the regular mirror doesn't.
I am sure that you've seen these mirrors on other vehicles.
Does anyone have any comments or experience with them? Do you all shoulder check religiously? Are the little mirrors a substitute for shoulder checking?
Planning on these myself. iI'm trying to find very small ones though. I don't need to read a license plate with them, I only need to see a blob of something that is not the pavement. More than a few cars have been in my blind spot, especially during highway merges. I try to look over my shoulder as a habit, but one can get sloppy and do it "most" of the time, instead of "all" the time.
I have one of those little blind-spot mirrors on each side mirror. I need all of the help I can get, and they're cheaper than merging with someone.
They give me four chances to spot a car in the next lane; inside rearview mirror, outside mirror, blind spot mirror, and quick head check.
The little mirrors have saved my butt several times.
My personal rules for changing lanes
1. Never assume a lane is clear, even if it was five seconds ago.
2. Never even start your move into the next lane without making sure it's clear
3. Never trust ONLY your mirrors to check a lane-someone could have repositioned them or who knows what-always head turn/shoulder check.
The above rules come from personal experience. I've never had a merging accident, but very occasionally a "Where did that car come from?" after checking in the mirror or head.
Experiment with placement of the little mirrors. I like the driver's side blind spot positioned on the far left of the side mirror's surface and the passenger side positioned on the side nearest the window. Use temporary tape to check out the difference before you attach them with their own sticky stuff. I've only used the little round ones, never the rectangular models.
They don't take the place of the existing mirrors or a shoulder check, but are an additional aid, especially as the rearward visibility in the newer Toyotas is decreasing.
I have signal mirrors on both outside mirrors. Besides giving a wider angle of view, they also signal for turns. I think they are great. 
No I don't have them. I just use the swivel feature of my neck. I think I would tend to overlook the little mirrors.
Perhaps what you need is Volvo's new BLIS. Blind Spot Information System
I'm sure a Volvo dealer will be happy to retrofit your Corolla! 
I had the little round blind spot mirrors on my '91 Taurus, but haven't bothered with them on either my '01 Corolla or my present '03. I learned early on that they are no substitute for a direct visual check; and a lot of cars I see that have them also have dents and scars on their sheet metal. They encourage laziness, not safe driving practices.
Having said all this, I'll admit that the Paratransit bus I drive for a living has convex mirrors, and they are a help, but still won't fully protect you from being "blind-sided." When I first started driving for a living, I had LOTS of close calls before I learned not to lean too heavily on my spot mirrors. You HAVE to use them, to be sure, but you also have to be SURE that what you're seeing is a clear path before you change lanes. As a result, I have a tendency to NOT change lanes unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary, and a lot of times this means SLOWING DOWN to the flow of traffic rather than attempting to pull out into a faster moving lane. This is something most drivers would never consider.
The theme running through these posts is that blind spot mirrors are not a substitute for shoulder checking. I admit that the reason I bought them is that I hoped that I didn't have to shoulder check anymore. I drive on freeways a lot where I have to constantly change lanes to avoid missing exits or to be forced onto an exit that I don't want.I had the little round blind spot mirrors on my '91 Taurus, but haven't bothered with them on either my '01 Corolla or my present '03. I learned early on that they are no substitute for a direct visual check; and a lot of cars I see that have them also have dents and scars on their sheet metal. They encourage laziness, not safe driving practices.Having said all this, I'll admit that the Paratransit bus I drive for a living has convex mirrors, and they are a help, but still won't fully protect you from being "blind-sided." When I first started driving for a living, I had LOTS of close calls before I learned not to lean too heavily on my spot mirrors. You HAVE to use them, to be sure, but you also have to be SURE that what you're seeing is a clear path before you change lanes. As a result, I have a tendency to NOT change lanes unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary, and a lot of times this means SLOWING DOWN to the flow of traffic rather than attempting to pull out into a faster moving lane. This is something most drivers would never consider.
So I guess I'll have to keep shoulder checking.
Hello All,
The best information I ever got regarding mirrors was given to me by a police driving instructor. He said, "If your mirrors are properly adjusted, you won't have any blind spots." Turns out that he was right. Try this...
1) Set up your seat in a position of comfort for you.
2) Adjust your rear-view mirror so that it gives you a clear view out the back window when your head is in the position that it normally is while driving (ie. not leaning back against the headrest...unless you actually drive with your head there)
3) Turn/tilt your head to the left as far as you comfortably can without turning your shoulders (in the 10 o'clock direction). With your head in this position, adjust your drivers side mirror so that you can see only a couple inches of the drivers side edge of the car in the mirror.
4) Turn/tilt your head to the right as far as you comfortably can without turning your shoulders (in the 2 o'clock direction). With your head in this position, adjust your passenger side mirror so that you can only see a couple inches of the passenger side edge of the car in the mirror.
5) Return you head to a neutral position. You should now have a clear view of the what is behind your car through the rear-view mirror and clear views of what is beside your car in the side view mirrors. If this is done properly, you will NOT be able to see any of your car in your side view mirrors.
6) Head out on a multilane highway. pass cars and let cars pass you. When cars come to pass you from behind, you should see them in your rear-view. Before they disappear out of the rear-view, you should see them in your side-view. Before they disappear out of the side view, you should see them in your peripheral vision. You will always see them in one of these places, so you will have no blind spots.
When you pass cars, it's just the same, but with the steps reversed.
It's still a good idea to do a shoulder "peek" (as opposed to a full shoulder check, which you no longer need to do) in order to pick up very tiny things in the city like joggers, bicycle couriers, skateboarders, etc. The way that my mirrors are set up, something has to be smaller than a bicycle to escape my view.
As a disclaimer, this technique, like all driving techniques, is only as effective as the driver. If you're a crappy driver, this won't make you a good driver. It may make you a slightly less crappy driver. Also, I've been told that it may take some getting used to. That was not the case for me, but I'm just pAssing that on. One more thing...effectiveness may vary from car to car based on design. It works fine on every car/truck I've tried it on so far, but I haven't tried it on everything.
Good luck and have a safe drive.
Regular Joe
ps. If you need to use your mirrors to see edge of your car and the curb when parallel parking, just turn/tilt your head.
Yeah I use spot mirrors, and love them. They have saved my butt a few times, for quick lane change, and no time to look over the shoulder.
I just got some for my new dodge intrepid. That car has some horrible blind spots.
Joe thanks for the tip. I adjusted my mirrors like you suggested and as you said I have no blind spots anymore. Thanks again. Drove all the way from NYC to North Carolina and back and it was great with the new mirror adjustments.
we got an intrepid in hawaii as a rental and one night both my parents drank so i drove back.....lets just say that car still needs some work...
Like mentioned before...I just adjust my mirrors so there is almost no blindspot.
I used them and really like them. My wife doesn't want any on her new S though so we won't be putting them on. She's making use my neck 
Yeah, I also have a Intrepid. Lots of blindspots in that car. Really have to take an extra half second checking blind spots. My 00 Neon I had was pretty bad also.
