Simple Mirror Trick Drastically Cuts Blind Spots and Saves Lives

A simple, free adjustment to car mirrors, developed nearly three decades ago, can significantly enhance road safety by eliminating dangerous blind spots. The technique, known as Blindspot and Glare Elimination (BGE) or the SAE method, was formalized by the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1995.

Traditional mirror placement creates significant blind spots because drivers often use the side of their vehicle as a reference point. This leads to an overlap between the side mirrors and the rearview mirror, failing to provide new visual information and leaving large areas invisible. In the United States alone, approximately 840,000 accidents annually are attributed to blind spots, resulting in hundreds of fatalities.

The BGE method requires adjusting side mirrors outward to cover areas not visible in the rearview mirror. This creates a near-continuous panoramic view around the vehicle. When correctly set, the side mirrors should not show the car's own body. This adjustment can reduce blind spots by up to 90% compared to traditional settings and takes less than two minutes.

To properly adjust the mirrors, first set your seat to your normal driving position. Adjust the rearview mirror to clearly see the entire rear window. For the driver's side mirror, tilt your head left until it touches the side window. From this position, angle the mirror outward until only a tiny sliver of your car's side is visible on the inner edge. When you return to your normal driving position, you should no longer see your car in this mirror. The passenger side mirror adjustment is similar: lean right so your head is over the center console. Angle the right mirror outward until you see only the far edge of your car. The effectiveness can be checked while driving, as a passing vehicle should smoothly transition from the rearview mirror to the side mirror.