When Will They Ever Learn?

The pixelboard signs on the 401 yesterday were still talking about 'Checking Your Blind Spots'.

Please.

Blind Spots have as much physical reality as the tooth fairy.

Oops - should have put a SPOILER ALERT in there...

The only blind spots are in the minds of the idiots who put those messages up on the pixelboards.

And, sadly, still in the minds of some of you out there.

I got e-mail-flamed by a young man over this issue. Well, I presume he's young; he still thinks it's cool to drive around in his Jeep with his fog lights on in broad daylight. Most people figure out how stupid that is by the time they can vote.

But he maintained that there ARE blind spots, and that we should be driving down the highway at 100 km/h plus looking over our shoulders instead of looking where we are going.

There also appear to be various commenters here on the blog who support this, um, viewpoint.

Or lack of viewpoint, I should say.

Let me reiterate: if you drive a normal car, or even if you drive a Jeep, THERE ARE NO BLIND SPOTS.

There are only mis-adjusted side-view mirrrors.

This is not merely opinion.

Not that MY opinion shouldn't be enough for you I'M KIDDING HAHAHAHA...

This is science, folks.

Laws of physics.

Laws of optics.

Laws of the reflection of light.

Laws of geometry.

As I noted in the original post, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) published a paper on this.

There is no question. It is 'the sun rises in the east' indisputable.

Even if I can't convince my otherwise bright sister-in-law to, um, see the (reflected) light.

Think about it. Give it a try. Take the chance to learn something new, something that could save you from a serious crash, like the one I almost got into when a Dodge Caravan almost ran me off the road yesterday afternoon - somewhat ironically, shortly after the offending (and offensive) pixelboard.

All that said, there was a ray of hope on a pixelboard sign I also saw on the 407 ETR yesterday, during another of my rare visits thereon:

"Check Your Mirrors. Know What's Around You."

Exactly.

 

Comments

[John]

I consider myself a good driver but after reading your earlier post I re-adjusted my mirrors per your advice. Hey Presto - no blind spots! I still do a shoulder check, but I feel a lot more confident that I know what's around me.

Thanks for the post; keep it up!

[Todd Coles]

A scarier thought is those people who read the sign and think to themselves - "Blindspot? What's a blindspot?" And they are not asking that question because they follow your blog and know how to correctly set up their mirrors.

[Symonsez]

Obviously the 407 pays their scribes more and have more intelligence (I mean the 407 can afford it with the rates they charge), whereas the 401 and the like have some fresh faced kid out of school doing it no doubt... Gahhhh dont get me going on those stupid signs... my only comment is "adopt the UK and Euro usage and put dynamic speed limits on them governed to the conditions" just a simple thing would solve so many idiot problems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zeichen_393.svg

http://img2.photographersdirect.com/img/12213/wm/pd1663227.jpg

and one from our friends at BMW

http://www.bmw.co.uk/specials/5series_touring_2010_showroom/com/en/newvehicles/5series/touring/2010/showroom/safety/speed_limit.html

[André Chénier]

Suggested message for those ridiculous signs : KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD.

[Richard]

I can't remember the exact wording, but one of the electronic message boards on the QEW westbound (on July 12) was recommending you look over your shoulder TWICE. Something like "Changing lanes? Check your blind spot, check again, change lanes safely." So, while I'm hurtling down the highway at 100km/h, they suggest I look behind me two times, completely losing track of what's happening in the direction I'm travelling. Why don't I just close my eyes twice for a count of one-one thousand, or maybe answer a text messsage on my phone?