Do you always adjust mirrors (especially kerbside one to check distance from kerbs) or prefer to use your judgment only while parking?
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Nope, I move my head around if need be!
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I find that even if my mirrors are set to cover blind spots, moving my head lets me see the sides of the car when parking. Much easier and quicker than moving the mirrors, unless you have some sort of neck injury.
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Do you always adjust mirrors (especially kerbside one to check distance from kerbs) or ....
If I'm in any doubt as to whether I've parked too far from the kerb I just open the passenger door when the car is stationary and lean over and look. It saves upsetting the mirror settings.
Edited by L'escargot on 20/10/2008 at 10:20
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I have my leftside mirror automatically adjust down for me. Oh the poshness of it all.......
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I never do - unlike many newer cars, mine has decently tall mirrors so mine are adjested so I can see the kerb just beyond the rear wheel but still allow me to see behind - plus a blindspot mirror covers the other bit.
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My Defender has nice tall mirrors. So I can see the curb and the traffic behind.
Currently parked about 1.5 inches from the curb.
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G/F's mother uses her door mirrors like Cats do thier Whiskers, if they "grate" on the wall - shes too far on the kerb!
Billy
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I can usually judge it fairly well, but there is a particular stretch of parking which is on a bend - there I turn the mirror down to check my position. Doubt I would if they were 'manual'.
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I have my leftside mirror automatically adjust down for me. Oh the poshness of it all.......
Me too (Merc E-class).
Every little helps.
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Go on rub it in - I used to have them :-(
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I would strongly doubt my driving ability if I had to rely on manually adjusting and/or self-adjusting mirrors. I've had them on a car, but I turned the function off because I couldn't be bothered waiting for them to do their thing.
It's very surprising to me how many here seem to need the nearside mirror anyway - surely the angle & line of the car tell you all you need to know about the proximity of kerbs/walls etc. - and I don't have scuffed alloys (or worse).
You've also got to bear in mind that while they're pointing 'down' you don't see what else might be going on - no free lunch I'm afraid, even for the 'poor of parking'.
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It's very surprising to me how many here seem to need the nearside mirror anyway - surely the angle & line of the car tell you all you need to know about the proximity of kerbs/walls etc.
I know where the car is in proximity to the kerb whilst parking, I'm never too sure about the alloy wheels and would prefer to avoid restyling them on the edge of an uneven kerb stone. I used to use the old "open the passenger door and check the distance from the kerb" trick on my wife's Ford Ka, but both my cars are too wide to be able to open the passenger door conveniently. So I use the nearside mirror for parallel parking.
I still manage to maintain my sense of observation at the same time. It's astonishing how many people will walk behind a reversing car.
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I have my n/s mirror permanently adjusted to aid reversing, but if necessary, i will wind down my window and look out, or open my door and look out, or twist my neck as far as i can to look round. I have also got back into the car and re-reversed ( is that in the dictionary ? ) if i thought i had done a bad job. If you are happy with your judgement go with it, At the end of the day, would you rather fiddle about a bit, or have your car covered in scratches or dents ? The best advice i got about reversing was - take your time. Reversing by mirrors seems strange at first, but if you get use to it slowly you will be surprised how accurate you can be . ( Zillions of truck drivers can't be wrong ? )
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The first time I heard of this was when I was doing my IAM, where my observer recommended the practice (not that I was bad at parking!)
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My current car has a parking mirror so I have it adjusted to see the kerb. However on cars that didn't I always adjusted the mirror for parking and turning my head for general driving, checking of blind spot etc. I think it's handy to see the kerb/road edge in the mirror in case there's something there you hadn't seen when pulling in.
Steve.
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I used to have a little piece of "sticky-tape" stuck to the bottom of the rear window (about a foot in from the edge). when this sticky was lined up on the kerb as you looked over your left shoulder, the car was 9" from the kerb, - worked every time, try it!
Billy
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I have my mirrors adjusted so that there are no blind spots when looking for traffic in adjacent lanes (i.e. sides of car not normally visible)
I find they also work for parking if I move my head a bit; it's a lot quicker and easier than moving the mirrors.
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