Experienced drivers will not be confused by the term “blind” or “dead” zone, but this concept may be unfamiliar to beginners. I would like them to learn about such subtleties from theory, and not from their own bitter experience. However, the latter option is often much more common than the former. And, unfortunately, driving skills and abilities are equivalent to the amount of money spent on car repairs.
"Dead zone
Directly related to the concept of "blind" or "dead" zone are the so-called accidents. passing direction or just cutting. The matter is as follows. The driver decides to change lanes to the next row, a glance in the rear-view mirror is thrown - there is no danger, the rebuilding begins, and then a car that has come from nowhere touches. The driver is at a loss: where did the interference come from - after all, there was no one in the mirrors?
But in fact, the car that came as a surprise was driving slightly behind, at the level of the rear row of seats behind the side pillar of your car. In this situation, it is no longer visible in the rear-view mirrors and is not yet visible with peripheral vision. It is this gap that is called the "dead" zone. If you did not notice the car, then you can get off with minor damage, it all depends, of course, on the speed and dimensions of the vehicle. But among motorcyclists, this zone is called "deadly" in the literal sense. So one should be careful to avoid such victims.
How to find the "blind" zone?
In order to determine where this zone is located on your car, there are two simple ways. In the first case, you can ask an assistant to go around the car, and those areas when you lost sight of him will be this zone. You can evaluate the zone while in a traffic jam. Note that in this case, your car should be standing, and the neighboring rows should be driving. Watching in the mirrors, notice where the car next to you will disappear. The “dead” zone begins there, and ends when the same car appears from behind the side pillar, and you see it with peripheral peripheral vision. For safety reasons, you can conduct this experiment while in a car parked at the side of the road.
Please note that as the speed of movement increases, the dead zone increases. This is primarily due to the narrowing of the area of peripheral vision. Another "dead" zone is the area behind the trunk of the car. It poses a danger when the car starts to move. in reverse.
We take control of the "blind" zone
It is possible and necessary to fight this phenomenon. Blind spot monitoring must be carried out with the same care as any other aspect of driving. First of all, it is important to correctly adjust the regular mirrors of the car. Their incorrect setting, as well as the incorrect position of the driver when driving, cause bad review and increases the "dead" zone of the car. A correctly adjusted mirror reflects the handle of the front doors of the car. The rest of the mirror space is occupied by the road.
When planning a maneuver, change your position slightly, look around to make sure it is safe from start to finish.
Pay attention to the so-called optical effect of rear-view mirrors. The fact is that modern production offers wide choose car accessories. Among them there is a huge variety of mirrors. There are also those that do not exceed the size of regular car mirrors, but they give a much more extensive and high-quality overview. And if there is such an opportunity, then it does not hurt to change the “native” mirrors of the car to more practical ones in terms of visibility.
The material was prepared by T. Bayatov
“When changing lanes, I didn’t notice the car and made a collision.” A fairly common wording in accident reports. And this says one thing: until now, drivers have a poor idea of what a "dead zone" is and how to deal with it.
It helped us to figure out where and how the driver should look when making maneuvers. Sergei Ovchinnikov, head of the school of counter-emergency driving.
I look but I don't see
There are key elements in modern cars, due to which there are " dead zones". These are the front struts. For the sake of safety requirements, these body elements are now made as wide as possible for greater strength and the ability to place airbags there. In bad weather, a strip of windshield is added to the width of the rack, which is not cleaned with brushes. This is about 3-5 centimeters, depending on the model of the car. As a result, we get a space closed from the driver’s view, where not only a pedestrian can hide, but also whole car under certain conditions.
- "Dead zones" are also behind the car. The most extensive is in the right mirror due to the fact that it is the farthest from the driver and gives a smaller viewing angle. Therefore, in all civilized countries, control of the "dead zone" by turning the head is required. For example, if during the driving test the cadet did not turn his head when turning right, then he goes to finish his studies further. There may be cyclists and motorcyclists in the “dead zone,” Sergey Ovchinnikov draws attention.
no mirrors and electronic systems cannot save from "dead zones", although they greatly reduce the likelihood of not noticing the car. We have already mentioned panoramic mirrors in the material "". Yes, they allow you to minimize "dead zones", but at the same time they greatly distort the distance to the car.
Modern cars are equipped with blind spot monitoring systems. Sensors detect objects behind and to the side of the vehicle and the system warns the driver signal lamps in the rear view mirrors.
- But with a simultaneous maneuver, when one car is rebuilt from the third lane to the second and another car is rebuilt in the same lane from the first lane, the system may not be able to cope. So only a turn of the head will save here, - Sergey warns.
Even perfectly adjusted rear-view mirrors do not solve the problem of "dead zones", so the only way to deal with this phenomenon is active actions- turn the head and tilt the body when performing maneuvers.
- At school, we recommend setting mirrors differently than they write in textbooks - in order to see the edge of the side of your car. We advise you to “open” the mirrors even further so as not to see the car, but to capture more road behind and reduce the "dead zone". It makes no sense to see the car in motion. And when parking, it is enough to tilt your head to assess the proximity to a neighboring car,” explains Sergey Ovchinnikov.
How to calculate "dead zones" and not get there?
- To find out where the dead zones are in your car, you just need to drive it next to another car in different positions and determine in which situations you do not see the car in the rear-view mirrors. In driving schools they talk about "dead zones", but they don't always show them. And it turns out that the cadet heard something about it, but did not see and does not know where these “dead zones” are, especially on a particular car.
Another important part of driver training is to make sure you don't drive in another vehicle's "blind spot" yourself.
- We tell at lectures at our school that if you "hid" from a Belarusian driver who does not turn his head in the "dead zone", then expect a "blind" rebuilding in your car. Where is it not recommended to go? At the truck - in the area of the footboard of the cab, at passenger car- if your front bumper is located in the area of the middle rack. These are the most important points. On practical exercises we set up cars so that they "hide" in the dead zone. Until the driver himself feels that he does not see the car without turning his head, he will not remember and will not understand.
To avoid the troubles associated with such a phenomenon as a “dead zone”, you need to follow simple rules: know and understand where the “dead zones” are in the car; always look before the maneuver, not only in the rear-view mirrors, but also in side windows; minimize the time spent in the "dead zone" - overtaking and advancing should be as fast as possible.
The assessment of the road situation is most influenced by the review. must see traffic situation, as well as analyze how well your car is visible to other road users.
Visibility may be obstructed by other vehicles (especially large ones), trees, houses, terrain, and design features car ("dead zones").
The table shows the most common cases limited visibility.
| Number | Picture | Description |
| 1 | I'll start with the most common situation - the "dead zone" (if this phenomenon is not clear, see this one). Many people know about it, and everyone has their own ways to check it during rebuilds. Most often they put additional mirrors or a panoramic rear-view mirror. I check this area with a quick nod of my head to the right when rebuilding (I don’t always do this, see the Maneuvering article for more details). I almost never check the left zone, because. I try to always control it through the rear-view mirrors. For example, a car was driving behind, which suddenly disappeared from the mirrors, in which case it is either on the right or on the left, and given that we have right-hand traffic, it is easier to look to the right: if it is not there, it is on the left. | |
| 2 | You are coming to a stop public transport on which there is a bus, trolleybus or tram. Not all pedestrians know that they need to cross the road behind the bus (). And do not forget about the trams, you need to stop and let people pass at their stops. A similar situation occurs when a truck is standing on the side of the road or in the right lane, pedestrians can run out in front of it. Analyze the situation in this case a look under the bumper will help standing car. And if legs are visible there, it is clear that someone is hiding there. |
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| 3 | On a road with two or more lanes, there is a car that passes pedestrians that are not visible to us (). Next case less common, but also possible. |
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| 4 | At shopping center many parked cars. There may be a danger of opening left doors () or reversing parked cars. You need to be especially careful if you see the driver inside the parked cars. And be very careful if the muffler of this car smokes and the front wheels are turned. The vehicle may suddenly move straight ahead, turn left or turn around. You also need to be more careful near schools, stadiums, markets and any similar places. | |
| 5 | When driving, do not get close to another vehicle, especially a large one. In this case, too short a distance impairs visibility. Visibility is much better in the second picture. In addition, too short a distance is dangerous due to the possible hard braking the vehicle in front, or situations where the vehicle in front makes a maneuver for which you may not be prepared. For example, there is a car with an emergency gang ahead. The driver of the car you are following is ready for a detour and it will not be unexpected for him, unlike you, so it will be very difficult to have time to react. |
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| 6 | With multi-lane traffic big cars do not allow complete overview situations. IN this example a collision is possible, because the drivers of the blue and red cars do not see each other. Full automatism of control over all participants will help to avoid such a situation. traffic. In the considered case, the driver of the blue car must assess the situation before passing the bus. To do this, it is necessary to analyze the location and speed of all participants (here the difference between the speeds of the blue, black car and bus is important). And if the maneuver is possible, plan to change lanes after passing the bus right after the red car. |
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| 7 | If the traffic light is green and the car in front of you is not moving, do not go around it at high speed. There's probably a reason why he doesn't. Behind him may be a pedestrian or other danger. Similarly, you need to treat a car that has stopped on the roadway. First, the situation can be analogous to the case of a pedestrian at a traffic light. Second, if he has technical malfunction(emergency gang is on and/or a sign emergency stop), the driver may not pay attention to cars passing nearby. In all these cases, it is better to slow down and be extra careful. |
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| 8 | When driving behind large vehicles (bus, truck, etc.), do not change lanes “blindly”. In this case, rebuilding is dangerous, because the situation ahead is not visible (similar to situation 5 for overtaking), first you need to increase the distance. |
At intersections, remember that passing vehicles can also create blind spots. The main examples are shown in the figures.
| Number | Picture | Description | |
| 1 | There are cars at the intersection, but one lane is empty. You know the green light is about to turn on and start accelerating in that lane. If the intersection is large and poorly visible, there may be a serious danger that at that moment other cars will finish their maneuvers at that moment at a flashing green or yellow in this place. | ||
| 2 |
When overtaking, a situation may arise when the driver began to maneuver in complete confidence in his safety, although at the same time another car left the crossing road, the driver of which thought that he had time to pass in front of the car you were overtaking and did not see your car. A similar situation is possible on the road with multi-lane traffic. Pay attention to the second picture (). These situations are very difficult to predict and can lead to the most serious consequences. They are complicated by the fact that the drivers of both blue and red cars do not see each other. To prevent this from happening, the driver of the blue car needs to be especially careful when overtaking or ahead of any intersection, even if he is on main road. It will be better to maneuver immediately after the intersection. It is better for the driver of a red car to refrain from leaving, even if oversized car is moving extremely slowly, but there is no certainty that there is no blue car in the “blind zone”. |
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| 3 | Houses, large cars, trees and bushes create "invisibility zones" when approaching an intersection. In this case, slow down immediately before crossing the road and be especially careful. Based on the figure, it is better to move the car to the right when approaching this intersection, the view will be better for you. Other drivers will also be able to notice you earlier. If visibility is difficult on the right at the intersection, it is better to keep to the left. You need to be especially careful when driving narrow road(for example, when leaving the yard). In this case, in order to see everything, the hood of the car will be pushed forward by carriageway, which can create a difficult situation on the road. |
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| 4 | When turning left, you do not need to turn the steering wheel to the left, especially if no one is turning behind. In the event of an impact, your car may end up in the oncoming lane (this applies not only to intersections, but also to U-turns). However, when turning left a large number oncoming cars, it is difficult to see the situation in other lanes. In this case, there are two options: either wait until the red light turns on and complete the maneuver, or carefully drive forward at a slight angle (wheels straight). If there are no approaching cars ahead (at this position good review, and everything is visible only through Windshield), sharply press the gas, turn the steering wheel and drive with |
In these cases, it is possible various dangers. For example, you can expect that one of the drivers, without turning on the turn signal or not looking in the rearview mirror (first picture), will want to change lanes into your (free) lane.
But the most common problem is that these vehicles can make it difficult for you and other road users to see. The situation depicted in the second figure is quite common. It should also be remembered that some drivers and pedestrians sometimes do not comply with traffic rules (examples from the third to the sixth are made in this way). But in the event of an accident, this will be little consolation for you.
Therefore, when driving in a free lane, do not dial high speed in relation to cars in adjacent rows.
The most important of all these examples is that all actions behind the wheel must be carried out only under the condition of full control of the situation. It is extremely risky to carry out such maneuvers, hoping that this happens only in the above examples.
Also, keep in mind that other drivers may not know these examples, so think for them. For example, if you always check the "dead zone" - this does not mean that all other drivers do it. Based on this, spend the shortest possible time in this zone with other cars, never drive there for a long time. Personally, I always pass this section with acceleration. The same applies to the other situations listed above.
And in conclusion, when you go uphill or a closed turn, you still don't know what's behind it. There may be an accident, overtaking, the end of the road,. Therefore, it is necessary to slow down and take a little to the right (uphill) to be ready for any situation (). Those who are interested can get acquainted with the study of psychologists on this matter.
The blind spot of a car is the area around it. vehicle, which is not visible to the driver when he is in his seat. At the same time, blind spots can be not only behind and on the side of the car, but also in front of it. This is a very dangerous space, as the car behind you may not be visible when it overtakes your car.
Determination of the blind zone of the car
Every motorist should know these places well. Define dead zone pretty simple. To do this, take the driver's seat and ask another person to go around the vehicle in a circle. In this case, you need to carefully look in the rear-view mirrors. At some point, the participant in the experiment will disappear from sight. This will be the blind spot of your car.
Getting rid of areas with limited visibility
Experts strongly do not recommend relying 100% on the picture that the rear-view mirror gives. Experienced motorists often change standard mirrors to spherical ones that can increase visibility. Wherein dead zone the vehicle becomes much smaller. However, this device has significant disadvantage, namely the distortion of the real distance to another object.
Now some car models are equipped with parking sensors, which partially solve the problem with blind spots. However, they are not able to completely get rid of dead zones. The whole point is that parking sensors and they don't always see small items. Therefore, when moving backwards, you can stumble, for example, on fittings and ruin paintwork body.
The more advanced device is Rear View Camera, which experts call the most effective solution to the problem of dead zones. However, this statement is true only if we are talking about moving backwards.
Side blind zones will remain inaccessible. Sometimes you can see special sensors on the rear-view mirrors that give a signal to the motorist if another car has entered a zone with limited visibility.
Dead zone - the cause of accidents!
According to experts, low visibility zones are one of the most common causes the occurrence of an accident. Experienced drivers trying to fight them with all their might and behaving more carefully. But beginners often ignore blind spots, which leads to trouble on the road.
Often, when another vehicle abruptly leaves the dead zone, the driver, trying to avoid a collision, simply taxis to another lane, which leads to a collision with vehicles going towards him.
It is worth noting that the zone of limited visibility may appear not only when overtaking. It is formed from trees, houses and other objects that obstruct the view. In addition, often dead zone appears when a vehicle with an unusual design is on the road.
Before you hit the road, you need to carefully adjust the rear-view mirrors. The horizon line should be located in them strictly in the middle. The driver must partially see the side of the vehicle and the road itself. Thus, it will be easier for the motorist to determine the real distance to the approaching object.
Surely, each of us at least once saw a curved mirror on the side mirrors of a car. It bears the terrible name "mirror of the dead zone". What is it, and what purposes does this "magic" device serve.
Dead zone - what is it?
A driver who has seen the views cannot be embarrassed by the question of a dead or blind zone, but a novice driver may well get confused and begin to recall footage from some horror movie. In fact, there is nothing terrible and terrible in this question. And it is desirable that every motorist, regardless of experience, knows about such things, because this concerns road safety. Moreover, it is better to know such information only in theory, and not having experienced it from your own experience. Although, it is through experience that many learn about this small, but very dangerous subtlety of driving a car. Like it or not, but driving experience and skill is sometimes tantamount to material resources that have to be spent on car repair shops.
The dead zone often becomes the cause of car accidents that occur with cars moving along the way. Often the situation is this: a novice motorist Vasily is preparing to rebuild in the last row, looking in the mirror rear view and, making sure that there are no other cars, proceeds to maneuver. A push, a rattle - a car that appeared from nowhere was touched. The motorist Vasily is confused, because there was no danger, and he looked in the mirror according to all the rules.
In fact, this "unexpected" car was moving a little behind, approximately flush with the rear sofa, behind the side pillar of Vasily's car. At this position rear car no longer visible in the rear-view mirrors, and it has not yet entered the driver's field of vision. This most invisible segment is called the blind zone. In reality, the cases are completely different. In case you did not manage to see the car moving behind, then there is a chance to get off with only a fright. The development of the situation, of course, depends on the size of the vehicles and the speed of movement. Motorcyclists call such a zone deadly. And this is no exaggeration. Therefore, if you are driving a motorbike, then be extremely careful, then you can avoid a fatal accident.
Dead Zone Detection Methods
In order to detect the dead zone of your car, you can resort to two very commonplace tricks. Ask your friend to walk around the perimeter of the car. At the same time, those segments where you cannot see it either with your own vision or in the rear-view mirrors are the desired blind zone.
In addition, it is possible to detect the blind spot when you had to stand in traffic jam. At the same time, your lane should not move, and neighboring cars should drive. Check your rear-view mirrors when a car moving in the next lane is out of sight. It is here that the blind zone originates, it will end where this car that has evaporated out of sight will appear due to the rack of your car. You can already detect it with your peripheral vision. For your safety, we advise you to conduct such experiments by stopping your car on the side of the road.
It should be taken into account that the increase speed limit permanently increases the blind zone. This fact takes place due to the fact that when moving at speed, the zone of the so-called peripheral vision of a person tends to narrow.
You will be surprised, but your car has another blind spot. It is located where the trunk of your car ends. It is dangerous when you maneuver in reverse.
Everything's under control
This danger is completely eliminated. Control dead zones motor vehicle necessary as scrupulously as other aspects of traffic. First, you have to adjust the rear-view mirrors individually for your parameters. Their incorrect setting, as well as your incorrect driving position, lead to a decrease in visibility. This makes the blind spot of the car wider, and therefore more dangerous. In a correctly adjusted side rear view mirror, you should see a handle driver's door. The rest of the space should be occupied by the track.
Now on the market you can find a huge variety of car accessories, including rear-view mirrors with various optical effects. Among their wide range, you can choose a mirror that, with equal dimensions, provides a wider viewing angle. If your wallet allows you, it makes sense to change the standard rear-view mirrors to those that offer you elevated level safety in road traffic.
The most popular way to help narrow the dead zone of your car is to install an additional set of blind spot mirrors. Such a device has a very small size, a convex shape and is attached directly to the native Side mirror your vehicle. Such additional device significantly increases the visibility of the driver. But, alas, there is also a drawback. The device occupies part of the surface of the rear-view mirror.
