She says. . .

Press, 17 February 1978, Page 11

She says. . .

Some friends who went on a motoring holiday during the Christmas break returned horrified at the number of caravanners who had no rear vision. Time after time, they said, they found that the tow cars were not fitted with those big, extending mirrors, and from the holdups they were causing it was obvious that the drivers had no idea what was behind them.

Perhaps when the car and caravan were not fully loaded, the drivers could use their normal mirrors to see “through” the vans, but once the van and car were loaded, the rear parcel shelf heaped with bits and pieces, and the rear seat full of young bobbing heads, all rear vision was lost. But it’s also true that those towing caravans are far from being the only offenders when it comes to knowing (and being able to see) what’s behind them.

Both in the city ahd out in the country you can see dozens of drivers whose mirrors are so obviously out of adjustment that they’re rarely used, and dozens more who may have their mirrors about right, but who never bother to use them.

These are the types who pull out suddenly on top of of you just as you’re about to overtake, who make sudden manoeuvres without signalling, and who behave generally as if there was no other vehicle on the road. But there is a time when

it can be dangerous to use a mirror, too: that’s when you’re reversing. I’ve often seen pedestrians endangered when cars have reversed suddenly towards them, the drivers relying entirely on the very narrow field of vision given by the interior mirror. It just isn’t enough — you must actually look about you, and make the effort to turn around, if you’re going to reverse with any safety at all.

One of the dangers with mirrors is that the “picture” they give starts quite a long way back behind the car. If there’s a low object behind the car — or worse still, a child — you’re not likely to know they’re there until there’s a crunch or a scream. Then it’s too late. —Barbara Petre.