Correctly adjusted mirrors are your single most important tool for both highway lane changes and low-speed parking precision. Over 70% of new drivers position their wing mirrors incorrectly by keeping too much of their own car body in frame, creating massive blind spots where entire vehicles or cyclists can disappear.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) recommends the BGE method to eliminate overlapping views between your interior rear-view mirror and side wing mirrors:
Sit in your normal driving position. Frame the entire rear windshield centered in the mirror glass. The horizon line should sit horizontally across the center of the mirror.
Lean your head to the left until it touches the driver's side window glass. Adjust the left wing mirror outward until the rear side of your car just disappears from view. When you return to normal seating, your car body will occupy only the inner 1/8th of the mirror.
Tilt your head to the right over the center console. Adjust the right wing mirror outward until your car's rear quarter panel just vanishes from the frame.
For parking accuracy, use your front and rear exterior door handles as reference anchors in your side mirrors:
When executing parallel parking against low concrete curbs:
Test mirror alignment and blind spot awareness inside our 3D parking simulator.
Launch 3D Simulator