SHE SAYS...

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33252, 15 June 1973, Page 6

SHE SAYS...

The incidents I recounted last week—people busily looking in their rear-vision mirror and combing their hair while they drove—has made me rather more conscious of the way people use their mirrors; and after studying the situation, I’m sure' you would have most drivers non-plussed if you covered their mirror, without warning, and asked them what was following them. This is a method some driving instructors use, and it’s often used in advanced driving tests, or during driving tests in Britain, I’m told. It is based on the principle that you should always be aware of what is behind you, and also how close it is. If you don’t know what’s behind you, you don’t know how important it is for you to signal every move, and how risky it’s going to be if you have to brake hard. One of the main features of defensive driving is advice on how to deal with the person who endangers you by driving too close behind you. Simply, when you see this, you leave extra room between you and the car in front of you, so that you can stop very

gently, and give the unwise one behind you lots of time to come to a slow stop without crunching into your rear bumper. But you can’t take this sort of precaution if you haven’t been watching your mirror. Lots of Christchurch drivers probably wouldn’t notice it for days if you glued a piece of paper over their rear-vision mirror so it was no use at all. Quite a few don’t even seem to have the mirrors adjusted correctly, so they obviously don’t use them much. To drive properly you must know what’s going on all around you—and too many drivers have selfimposed “tunnel vision”; they only bother to look ahead, on the principle that everyone else can just look after themselves. It’s not surprising they get mixed up in so many accidents.

London show

A total of 417 companies have now applied for space at the 1973 London international motor show. Last year’s show had 402 exhibitors. The 1973 show will open at Earls Court on October 17.