Prius blind-spot accident

[bwilson4web]

Hi,

This is a report about an actual Prius accident. It was probably an NHW20 but I suspect the blind-spot problem is shared by our 2010 Prius:
http://www.momlogic.com/2009/08/i_cr...biker_dude.php

. . . Thump. That was the only sound I heard. What followed was a horrific vision -- the body of a man tumbling on the pavement in front of my car, his motorcycle not far behind him. I screamed and slammed on the brakes. As I jumped out of the car to run to him, I ordered my 11-year-old to call 911.

It's every driver's worst nightmare -- a motorcyclist in our blind spot. That day had been a busy mom day of errands successfully accomplished despite the bickering kids in the car. I was driving my new Prius. Having just made the big lifestyle change from a succession of enormous SUV's, my blood curdles at the thought of how that day would have gone had I hit that man with an SUV. But the Prius, and its blind spot, was new to me, and as I moved into a left turn lane in a busy commercial area in Los Angeles, there it was. That sudden, terrifying thump.

When I reached the man, he had gotten to his hands and knees. He looked up at me and quietly said, "You didn't see me?" Clearly I hadn't -- and I felt like a fool, although I was thankful he was talking. Then my eyes began to take in more details of my victim as his hulking frame rose up from the pavement. The dude had to be 6'4", about 250 pounds, with tattoos covering every inch of visible arms. His ears, lips, and nose were dotted with gleaming piercings. His helmet had spikes shooting out from the crown, and the piece de resistance, a sticker on his bike that read, "I'm a Devil's Diciple [sic]. Don't f*** with me."
. . .

This is a real risk for Prius drivers, dealing with the blind spot(s). No amount of noise generator would 'win' versus a Harley. No Lexus accident helps us adjust our mirrors to try and see vehicles in these blind spots. This is real and to the extent that we pay attention to what actually is a risk, we can mitigate them.

Bob Wilson

[blueumbrella]

This is scary. I read a post here recently about properly adjusting side mirrors. I made that change and it really has almost completely eliminated my blind spots. It does take some getting used to, but it really does improve your area of vision.

[claridiva]

Originally Posted by blueumbrella

This is scary. I read a post here recently about properly adjusting side mirrors. I made that change and it really has almost completely eliminated my blind spots. It does take some getting used to, but it really does improve your area of vision.

Can you post the link to this thread/post? I tried searching for it and did not find it. Many thanks!

[DeadPhish]

Originally Posted by blueumbrella

This is scary. I read a post here recently about properly adjusting side mirrors. I made that change and it really has almost completely eliminated my blind spots. It does take some getting used to, but it really does improve your area of vision.

Originally Posted by claridiva

Can you post the link to this thread/post? I tried searching for it and did not find it. Many thanks!

After driving for 40 yrs I sold a verhicle to a current HS Driver Ed teacher. During the course of the demo the subject somehow came to blindspots. He mentioned that two things had changed in the driver's positioning over the last 45 yrs since I had learned to drive.

A. Instead of holding the hands at !0 and 2...the kids were being taught to hold it lower at 8 and 4 or even at 7 and 5. It's to keep the hands away from inflating airbags.

B. The mirrors. A long distance trucker confirmed this point.

• lean your head all the way to the left against the window....then adjust the left mirror to catch the tail edge of the car.
• lean over on the center console resting on your right arm and adjust the right mirror to catch the tail edge of the car.
• sit back normally, voila...blindspots are gone or nearly non-existent.

Initially it looks weird but it works very very well. Why do you need to see the back edge of your car?

[patsparks]

All that is required is to move your head.
After reading the description of the rider I can only imagine loud pipes didn't save this guys skin!

[LoraJ]

Good tips!!! Will check out my mirrors the next time I am in the car. When I almost got in an accident a couple of weeks ago, it was more of a front end blind spot with a guy turning into the same lane as I was. Very scary. No mirror would have helped there. Thank goodness for the extra set of eyes in my car. I am one to always look back when changing lanes, which is actually why I almost hit this guy.

[patsparks]

Originally Posted by DeadPhish

B. The mirrors. A long distance trucker confirmed this point.

• lean your head all the way to the left against the window....then adjust the left mirror to catch the tail edge of the car.
• lean over on the center console resting on your right arm and adjust the right mirror to catch the tail edge of the car.
• sit back normally, voila...blindspots are gone or nearly non-existent.

Initially it looks weird but it works very very well. Why do you need to see the back edge of your car?

Because it allows you to judge distance. Adjusting mirrors like this might allow you to see what you should turn your head to look at in the mirror but with the convex mirrors now fitted on both sides of most new cars depth perception sucks. You know what is there but not where it is! (Objects viewed in the mirror are closer than they appear.)
Any good motorcyclist will tell you, turn your head and check your blind spot!

[ceric]

There is a reason why blind-spot monitoring system (called BSM) is getting popular.
The cost is only $200 on Mazda. It can be found on more than 10 brands in USA.
Honda/Toyota are way behind on the adoption of this technology.
No matter how you adjust your side mirrors, your side views at dark rainy nights will always be limited.

[PriusLewis]

I use spot mirrors on the outside mirrors of my cars. The ones at the auto parts stores are 2 inch diameter. This works well on a large mirror, but for the smaller car mirrors I go to the local motorcycle accessory store and buy spot mirrors for a bike. These are 1 inch diameter. On my Prius I put them out at the "sharp" end of the existing mirrors. They're small enough to prevent them from using up too much of the existing mirrors, but still provide a view of the blind spot. These have helped a lot. If you click on the "pics" link in my sig, you can just see the spot mirror on the right in the right rear 3/4 view.

[yardman 49]

Originally Posted by patsparks

Because it allows you to judge distance. Adjusting mirrors like this might allow you to see what you should turn your head to look at in the mirror but with the convex mirrors now fitted on both sides of most new cars depth perception sucks. You know what is there but not where it is! (Objects viewed in the mirror are closer than they appear.)
Any good motorcyclist will tell you, turn your head and check your blind spot!

Pat:

Are the "convex mirrors now fitted on both sides of most new cars" something that is only required in Australia? I have never seen them on the driver's side here in the states, and I rent many different cars during a year's time for work.

Like PriusLewis, I use the $2 stick-on blind spot mirrors. I've been using them for years. I also have put them on my wife's cars. She really likes them also. They've saved me several times, and I keep my side mirrors adjusted "normally", not in the "wide" configuration mentioned by others in this post. Not only have they saved me, but they also help me to verify that my blind spot is clear without having to turn my head. I don't have a problem with the depth perception issue.

The blind spot mirror also enables me to see those drivers who merge into my blind spot from two lanes over, as well as the ones who are in my blind spot in the adjacent lane. Some drivers don't think about "driving defensively", especially when it comes to blind spots. They pull up along side you in your blind spot and just sit there, unaware that they can't be seen easily. Or they merge right into your blind spot.

I try to keep myself out of other's blind spots when I drive. I realize that it's my responsibility to make myself "seen".

DeadPhish: I thought that the statement by the "long distance trucker" about how to adjust mirrors was strange. Most long distance truckers use large convex mirrors for a wide angle view, in addtiion to the standard flat mirrors, so such an adjustment of the flat mirrors would seem to be unnecessary.