north shore news AUTO shoulder check your blind spots PEOPLE, people! Yow’re scaring me. The shoulder check is supposed to be an elemen- tary driving habit. It involves a quick glance over either shoulder as a visual check of one’s “blind spots.” Blind spots are those areas about one’s vehicle which can not be seen with cither mirrors or with peripheral vision. If your car were a clock face, with it’s hood being 12 o'clock and the trunk being six o’clock, the two most obvious blind spots are con- sidered to be at roughly four o’clock and eight o'clock (right side and left side, respectively). Assuming you lack X-ray vision, other blind spots often ignored include the four posts holding up the roof of your car (anoth- er good reason to buy a convertible); a folded- down sun visor, which can obscure from view such things as traffic lights; and, depending on the size of your vehicle and its windows, the actual body of your car, which hides more important sights such as little kids and baby strollers. Quite.an eye opening list, you might say. In my travels I’ve often encountered the driver parked curbside, who, after a token glance in their mir- ror, assumes that there’s nobody around and pulls out into the stréet without so much as a signal nor —- you guessed it —— a shoulder check. This is most hazardous when I’m pulling out‘of an alley or driveway perpendic- ular to the bonehead and precisely in his or her eight o’clock blind spot. Naturally, the lazy driver won’t catch sight of alley people like me in their mir- ror; I’m in their blind spot. The mirror’s optics are . designed to encompass the rear and side-rear view of the car it is mounted to. By its very nature, a mir- ror does not offer a panoramic view. A serious design flaw, to be sure, but a vgry good reason to shoulder check as well. Also in my travels I'll often sce the blind-to-the- blindspot boneheads travel- ing at speed along a three- lane (or mace) roadway. If I’m in the curb Jane and want to move into the centre lane, I check my mir- rors, signal left and shoul- der-check my feft blind spot (that 8 o’clock spot). Frequently, and not at all to my surprise, some fellow from the far left lane will decide to forgo safety proce- dures and drift casually into the same centre lane. When such boneheads are slightly ahead of me I bee : . ane , Shaun Conlin signals see them peripherally at 10 o'clock and which puts me in their four o'clock blind spot. Because I’m endowed with incredible foresight I “Some fellow from the far left lane will decide to forgo safety procedures and _ drift casually into the same centre lane.” can usually back off or return to my original lane when [ encounter such boncheads. That is to say, when I drive I always consider the options left open to myself should I encounter a bonehead at any given moment. Sure, it consumes a lot of brain power and rarely affords me the time to think 99 SIENNA } ‘29%... Oni $28,380 msrp 98 RAV 4 m5 spd, p/w, pil, 4X4, low km Excellent condition Bi 93 SUBARU GL WAGON @ Std, 4cyt, 4WD, clean, low km’s t CAMPING FUN . about groceries, the boss or last week's X-Files episode, bur it keeps me safe and fecling smug. And what if the bone- head is right beside me when he decides te dritt into my lane? That's a moot question. Asa safe driving practice, i simply refuse to fet anyone drive parallel to me for any significant amount of time. Driving side by side with anvone leaves me with very few options should an encounter with a bonehead be in my imme- diate future. When someone sets themselves next to me as I motor down the road, I keep a very studious corner of my eye on them and then speed-up or slow down a bit, thus clearing the space beside me. I also create a safe amount of space in front of and behind me should I need to rapidly accelerate or brake as I avoid boneheads. Call me paranoid but call me a Road Star. Cail me smug but call me safe. Shonlder checking is nearly effortless folks, yet so very crucial. Do it. While you're at it, assume the drivers around you don’t. It’s not a'secrer: There are a lot of stupid, lazy, bonehead drivers out there. Deal with it. Stop scaring me. Be safe. 91 COROLLA GTS 5spd, p/w, p/l, excellent condition. eooe0 91,995 $16,930 msrp. SAAB - We build cars around the driver! Youll sense the difference in what you sea feel and heor. 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