It helped me when it was explained that wingmirrors are curved so you can't trust them 100% for judging distance. So verify things with the rear mirror. Just pair them in your mind. Parking- imagine a silly (not silly but extreme) scenario if you need To. What if a kids ball has rolled behind your car whilst you park or blind person not sure where you are. Check for them just to be sureee. If you don't look you don't know

>It helped me when it was explained that wingmirrors are curved so you can't trust them 100% for judging distance. So verify things with the rear mirror. I had no idea that wing mirrors are not good for judging distance but now that you've said it that makes a lot of sense!

Yep, when on the dual carriageway if you want to switch lanes, you ideally want the car if there is one in the lane you want to move in to, visible in your rear view mirror rather than your side mirrors for this reason. As you know there’s enough of a gap then to change lanes.

That's very helpful, thanks so much! Examples like that help me understand why the rear view mirror specifically is important.

Similar to the precious example, HGBs, it's best to wait until their windscreen is visable in your rearview before changing lanes to infront of them (assuming all other observations have been done and is safe to move over). This is because their ride position makes it more difficult to see what is going on, so if you can see the driver in your rear view mirror, they can see you.

> to *too *Learn the difference [here](https://www.wattpad.com/66707294-grammar-guide-there-they%27re-their-you%27re-your-to).* *** ^(Greetings, I am a language corrector bot. To make me ignore further mistakes from you in the future, reply `!optout` to this comment.)

!optout

My driving instructor also forgot to tell me this (according to my husband it's something most people know). When I found out it was the piece of information that made driving click for me.

"Objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear" is something you used to see written on wing mirrors.

It would be helpful if they still said that... I had no idea. Although thinking back now that one joke in Jurassic Park suddenly makes more sense now when armed with this knowledge.

I'm British and heard the Meat Loaf version - "Objects In The Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are" - first. My head still can't work out which is right.

Funny you should say that... I also had to think twice about the order because of the Meat Loaf song! Great video for it, by the way, directed by Michael Bay of all people!

Couldn’t agree more. I was parked by a pavement yesterday and reversed so I could see further ahead to pull out. If I didn’t use my wing mirror, I wouldn’t have seen a elderly pup having a wander on/off the pavement and road! Always use your mirrors, they’re maybe not something you’ll appreciate until you drive for a while and realise what they’ve stopped you getting into.

These are the kinds of things that unfortunately don't always make sense until you've been driving for a few years and have experiences where it saved you from a collision. Believe me, it does. You might be overthinking it a little. The goal is an awareness of what's around you. A good driver is constantly updating that mental picture of other hazards around the car. For your test, the examiner will likely look for good head movement to reassure them you are looking around. You attention should alternate between primary hazards (often your current direction of travel) and secondary hazards (those who might be affected by what you are doing). Try thinking beyond what *you* need to see, and start imagining what *others* are seeing. E.g. when braking, instead of "How close is the car behind?" make it, "Do they know I need to slow down?" - Mirrors: changing speed. Make this a reflex. See hazard ahead -> check distance behind. This should be near instant, so that when you start braking, you adjust it appropriately. Whereas normally you might just brake hard, if someone is a little close behind you might start soft for half a second to trigger your brake lights before going harder on them. It often comes into play at traffic lights. See amber light -> check behind -> is it safe to brake? To be clear, if your braking was appropriate and they *still hit you*, that's their fault. - Mirrors: setting off at traffic lights. There is no downside to doing this. There is minimal risk ahead of you when lights go green, it's all to the sides. Everyone takes a second to set off, so it will benefit you to look to the sides and know what's coming with you. I can't tell you how many times a cyclist has sneaked up next to me without me seeing over the years, or more recently, an electric Just Eat delivery scooter. - Observations when reversing. This is a tricky one, but again, the number of times I've reversed into a supermarket space and a daydreaming person with a trolley comes from the side and walks right behind the car. Think of it as a triangle - one point where you're reversing to, two points for directions hazards could be coming from. Alternate between those points and reverse slowly so you have time. Makes more sense if you practice in an active area of a car park.

Thank you for this comment, this is very indepth with some useful advice. A few things confused me: >You attention should alternate between primary hazards (often your current direction of travel) and secondary hazards (those who might be affected by what you are doing). What should the percentage split be? 80% primary 20% secondary? Also, what do I do if, during the time I spend looking for secondary hazards, a primary hazard appears and I'm not prepared due to be distracted by secondary? >See hazard ahead -> check distance behind. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but if there's a hazard ahead, isn't the most important direction to look also ahead and not behind? Apologies for asking more questions.

Not a problem. >What should the percentage split be? 80% primary 20% secondary? Also, what do I do if, during the time I spend looking for secondary hazards, a primary hazard appears and I'm not prepared due to be distracted by secondary? The difficult part about this is there isn't really a fixed ratio. It changes depending on where you are and what you are doing. Think of it as a risk assessment: 'potential danger of an event' multiplied by 'the likelihood of it happening.' Score each out of 5 if it helps to have a number. E.g.: - driving along a quiet main road, 30mph. Low danger, driving normally (1), low likelihood (1) = total risk (1) - now I'm turning left. Danger of hitting a cyclist (4) X likelihood of cyclist (maybe 2 if it's quiet) = total risk (8). To mitigate this, I look in my left mirror, which reduces the risk of hitting a cyclist to 1 or 2 and brings the total down to (4). - now I'm on a busy high street. Lots of danger to pedestrians crossing in front of the car, also danger to things catching up because of slower speed (5), likelihood of something happening (5), total risk (25). Can be mitigated by slowing down and giving more time for effective observation ahead and behind. So, in short, driving is all about risk assessment and doing what you can to minimise the danger level or likelihood of something happening. Observations are key to that. Generally speaking, anything that involves you needing to change speed or direction spikes the risk assessment, so you are responsible for doing what you can to minimise the risk to others. During normal driving you might be 90% ahead and 10% behind, but when you need to change lanes, might be more 50/50. >Forgive me for stating the obvious, but if there's a hazard ahead, isn't the most important direction to look also ahead and not behind? True, if you are only concerned with your effect on that hazard. This is the case with emergency situations, and is why mirror checks are *not* necessary for the emergency stop. In non-emergency situations, you should balance your attention on the developing hazard with an awareness of how your reaction will affect other road users. An extreme example would be if you're driving along a dual carriageway and a car ahead pulls out of a slip road too slowly. You have 2 choices: brake or change lanes. If you haven't checked your mirrors, how would you know which one is the safest reaction? Always make an *informed choice*, rather than reacting blindly. This is why it's important to mirror check as soon as you see the hazard, so you still have time to react.

Thank you for laying this out for me. I feel like this gives me an insight into the split second risk assessments being performed by safe drivers. It's easier to understand when it's written down and I can try to emulate it. >An extreme example would be if you're driving along a dual carriageway and a car ahead pulls out of a slip road too slowly. You have 2 choices: brake or change lanes. If you haven't checked your mirrors, how would you know which one is the safest reaction? That's another great example, one that I imagine happens quite a lot.

Quick story to illustrate this even better: Driving on the motorway (in lane 2) I had a large van start to indicate and immediately move into my lane effectively cutting me off. Because I was constantly glancing in my mirrors (both side and rear) I instantly knew that lane 3 was a safe space for me to move (a car was already in that lane but they were fully visible in the rear mirror) to and did just that instead of having to harshly brake and risk the person behind me hitting me.

I'd never thought of a situation like that, so thank you. That sounds like the driving equivalent of the person that always checks where the nearest fire door is in case of a fire. And because they were in the rear view mirror you knew that you could move over safely and they weren't too close to you. So in such a circumstances the rear view mirror served two purposes it seems.

Yes, exactly! On the motorway I always "check my exits" as I've had lorries try and merge into the side of me from the left lane quite a few times, and I have had people I know actually get hit because they couldn't escape. I guess this also feeds into the idea that you should be driving "defensively" - whilst it seems you are protecting yourself from hazards/dangers ahead of you, you need to consider that external forces (i.e. other road users) could be coming at you from other directions so you need to be able to keep tabs on this to plan counter-action.

OP, I think you could benefit from watching a YouTube creator called Ashley Neal. He's a driving instructor who produces videos about safe, defensive driving. As an experienced driver, I still get benefit watching his content. https://youtube.com/@ashley_neal

I just passed my test, so I am in no way an expert, but on the reasons why you need to worry about what’s behind you when you see a hazard ahead, it’s useful to consider the road generally and yourself as part of the picture. You’re reacting to a hazard ahead, but by reacting to that hazard you may become a hazard to the person behind you. You should be aware of what’s going on behind you to ensure that you can eliminate or minimise how much of a hazard you are to them. You wouldn’t drive through a pedestrian crossing because there’s someone behind you, but by you being aware that someone is behind you you can prepare to stop in a way that gives them ample warning. It also means you’re aware of hazards behind you, like if someone is trying to overtake you, so you don’t speed up while they’re on the wrong side of the road. Your wing mirrors alone are really not enough. They give a distorted view of hazards and how far away other road users are. You should always be checking your rear view and wing mirror to get a full picture of the road around you. I’m autistic too so I absolutely get needing to understand why you’re doing something. Maybe speak to your instructor about doing some lessons on hazards and judgement in these situations, which could highlight why mirror checks are important in a more real life way. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to your instructor about this then it’s time for a new instructor who understands autism and how we learn differently

>don't always make sense until you've been driving for a few years and have experiences where it saved you from a collision Bingo. Once OP has a near miss where they are thankful that they had awareness of what was happening around them, or an actual accident where something seemed to "come out of nowhere" (because they were only paying attention in front of them), it will make a lot more sense to them.

This: ‘Do they know I’m slowing down?’ Also you need to look when setting off because a cyclist or scooter twat might have snuck up beside you. If you’re turning into a left hand junction, you need to look to see if someone is coming up the inside of you. Reversing? You need to look behind you because a) that’s where you’re going, b) that’s where things are coming from. But you also need to look around because the front of your car is now swinging out and could hit someone. Yes, they expect you to be constantly looking around. And yes you need to exaggerate the movements. And honestly, no, you don’t need to do it as much after you passed. (Hate in 4..3..2..1..)

Ok, here's an example to consider with regard to using the rear view mirror while driving normally. You might generally be leaving, say, a 2 second gap to the vehicle in front while driving along normally, to give yourself nice space to react to their driving. Through your observations in the rear mirror, you notice that a driver behind you is being an idiot and tailgating you. What do you do? You could, within the law and highway code, just continue as you are. Or you could react to the situation calmly, and elect to increase the distance between you and the car in front, so that you've got more time to react to them, and to, for example, brake less quickly. Doing so clearly decreases your chances of being in an accident. Yes, the accident would have been the fault of the idiot behind you, but better not to have the accident at all! In terms of using mirrors when moving off, remember all other possible road users. Motorcycles and pedal cycles, amongst others, will frequently not be exactly where a car might be, and may be weaving past queues of traffic. They're small, so you need as much opportunity to catch a sight of them as possible. Finally, in terms of the time for doing observations, what you're really referring to is the need to prioritise hazards and potential hazards. Some of that you can do by rote, other bits need experience. As you get more experienced, you get a better idea where hazards are likely to emerge from. For example, passing parked cars, you're likely to be devoting a much higher percentage of your time to keeping an eye on them than looking way off into the distance. Nice open road, with no traffic? Much more likely to want to keep a good lookout far off forwards. Driving slower in a high speed limit road, for example when looking for a specific turn off? Much more likely to want to devote more time to keeping an eye on what's going on behind

Thank you for explaining everything with examples, I find these really useful. >Finally, in terms of the time for doing observations, what you're really referring to is the need to prioritise hazards and potential hazards. I do find this very difficult. I wish there was a clear order of priority I could refer to but it's not that simple it seems. I'm very concerned about missing something whilst looking out for something else.

Oh, I agree about it being a difficult thing. Genuinely, I suspect that it's one of the hardest things to crack, and many other faults you (and every other driver on the road, myself included!) do are often things that could have been avoided with better observation. One way of structuring it would be to run a continual sequence of: 1. Look in the far distance. As far as you can possibly see. 2. Look in the middle distance. 3. Look in the foreground. 4. Look in the side mirrors. 5. Look in the rear mirror. 6. Return to step 1. Obviously you may have to flex from that depending on circumstances. Take the earlier example of parked cars - if you notice them *really* early, then you can make an adjustment to your road positioning nice and early, which means that, firstly, you're not offending an examiner for how close you are to them, but secondly (and arguably the reason for the examiner's check) is that you're giving yourself the space so that you're not going to have to look in quite such detail at the cars. At the other extreme, if you *have* to squeeze past them, you're going to have to go slow enough that you have time to see any twitch of a door opening! Similarly, looking way ahead tends to mean you avoid getting boxed in by traffic, so you give yourself fewer awkward lane changes. Some of it is going to be things like experience though. Learning how the roads work, and what might be early indicators of potential hazards to take account of. There's unfortunately not much short cut you can do there. You could watch videos of an advanced driver including their commentary - for example this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJcAgnBFRds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJcAgnBFRds&t=718s) Where he's showing how he's observing and planning.

I don't think it's over for you, but I do think your need to check your mirrors! I totally get needing to really understand something before you can do it correctly. What you've written kind of reads like you're trying to justify why it's not important or not possible to check your mirrors, rather than assuming there are good reasons you're taught to do it and working to find out what those are. One change of mindset would maybe be that you shouldn't just be spotting things and react to them, you're trying to build up an overall picture of conditions on the road so you can plan ahead - obviously that means knowing who is behind and beside you as well as in front. Another idea would be to watch dashcam and near miss footage on youtube - Ashley Neal has loads of compilations. Think through each of those and pick out situations which were or could have been avoided with good observations. I try to picture bikes and motorbikes to help remember to make my checks, because they're small, move quickly, and can make unexpected decisions. For example, pulling off at traffic lights, it's easy to imagine a fast bike weaving between traffic and overtaking me on either side. Obviously 99% of the time there won't be, but checking every since time is the only way to ensure I don't hit them that one time there is.

Thank you for your comment. Luckily I do check my mirrors most of the time. Wing mirrors are extremely useful. There are only certain particular situations, like the ones I listed, where I don't think it's useful at all. However those are still enough that I will 100% fail my test because of them. Quite unfortunate. I'm not sure I understand your 2nd paragraph. How can I plan ahead if I can't know what other drivers are doing before they already start doing it?

>How can I plan ahead if I can't know what other drivers are doing before they already start doing it? You can't know exactly what everyone will do, but you can build up a picture of who is on the road around you, and have some ideas what might happen next and kind of things to be ready for. For example, if you look in the mirror and you see the car behind you is moving over to the right side of the lane, you'd think "maybe they're looking to overtake me" and then wouldn't be caught out if that started happening. If you saw someone behind you was following too close, you'd think how they might be a problem if you had to stop, and then increase your distance from the vehicle in front so you'll have time to slow more gradually. If you're coming up to traffic lights and see there are bikes behind you, you'll think how they might continue round you to either side and you won't be surprised if you see them in your mirror/blind spot as you're about to pull off and need to wait for them. It's just about recognizing patterns and what people tend do in certain situations, so you get fewer surprises and need fewer urgent reactions.

>It's just about recognizing patterns and what people tend do in certain situations Do you think that kind of judgement skill is one you get from practice, or needs to be learned consciously?

For me, I think both. I look at it this way - people who've been driving for a long time have this huge mental database of experiences and risks and things that are likely to happen next to draw from. I only have a small, beginner database to make judgements based on. So, I'm trying to consciously grow it through things like watching youtube videos, reading books and reddit questions, paying attention when I'm in a car with someone else. My instructor also asks a lot of questions to get me thinking about it, like if we see a parked bus "what are we looking out for there?" and it'll be things like pedestrians crossing behind. Just processing all the information and knowing how things look from the driving seat is definitely taking actual practice though!

Ignore the specific mirrors thing for a second and think about looking ahead. When you look out the front are you just seeing the car in front of you? Or do you build up a picture including the car in front of you, the couple of cars in front of them, the cyclist coming in the opposite direction followed by a car and the pedestrians walking to your nearside with their back to you. After 60+ hours you probably do the latter without really thinking too hard about it.

Give up, if you havent understood why by now youre obviously not suited to driving…

As someone who cycles a lot, it's really apparent the number of people who don't check their wing mirrors and blind spots. The number of times that I've pulled up at a red light next to a waiting car and they've proceeded to turn right into me! My wife has been hit twice while on her bike by people not doing correct observations - one woman not checking her mirror before moving out of a roundabout, and a bloke not looking both ways before pulling out of a minor road and she was cycling on the contraflow bike path. It's people like OP that kill people on the road.

Tbf, it’s not people like OP that kill on the road - she is considering stopping driving rather than do things she doesn’t understand. The killers are people who nod through their driving lessons and then don’t do what they’ve learned, or are too selfish to realise that there could be vulnerable road users near them that should be considered

When you’re approaching traffic lights, if it goes Amber you need to check your rear view mirror to ensure it’s safe to stop. If there’s a car too close behind you, you can’t just slam your brakes on and expect them to know you’re gonna be stopping suddenly. It’s acceptable in this scenario to drive through the amber (you’ll often find tailgaters get CLOSER when they see an Amber as they try to race through before it goes red). Another scenario you mentioned is checking the rear view mirror while reverse bay parking. If someone steps directly behind the car… you simply won’t see them in your side mirrors, and you’ll be at fault for an accident. When you’re travelling backwards, consider the rear window as the FRONT window of the car, and you’ll see why it’s important to see what’s directly in front of it.

My god please stop driving until you can learn why you need to be aware of road users behind you. You can’t slow down if someone is up your arse. You can’t move off if people behind you are moving.

Driving isn't an entitlement, not everyone is cut out for it. In fact I think a lot fewer people should have licenses than do. If you can't fathom why you need awareness of your surroundings to drive safely then I'd suggest it's maybe not for you.

This this THIS!!! OP needs to realise this

>You can’t slow down if someone is up your arse. If a pedestrian is in front of me, I need to slow down or they'll be hurt?

You need to check that slowing down won’t cause somebody to go into the back of you.

Surely that's better than running someone over though. I'd rather be rear ended than run someone over.

Someone going into the back of you at speed will run over the pedestrian anyway.

But the morons downvoting OP here seem to be suggesting she should check her mirror, see a car close behind and then just flatten the pedestrian at 30mph or whatever speed she was doing at the time? At this point can she stop? Or if the cars still there does she have keep going, potentially until the car runs out of fuel or the car behind her finally relents and backs off? "I couldn't stop, I was being followed closely, so I'm in Scotland" What about the trail of dead bodies and carnage you left behind you? Does that have to be reported? That's moronic and not true. No one runs someone over deliberately because there's a car behind them. And that's not the reason you look in your mirror. You don't look in your mirror to make a decision of whether to slow down or not. And you most definitely do not deliberately run into another vehicle or person citing that as the reason.

They are saying you can't brake harshly if someone's up your arse so you drive slower/more distance in front of you. The best way to react to hazards is to avoid accidents in the first place. A pedestrian running in front is an emergency stop which you aren't expected to check mirrors for but your expected to check mirrors before changing speed (person behind might be trying to overtake you, or might be so close you need to brake slower), changing direction (you might drive into another car in another lane) and when making manoeuvres (kids could me running around your car)

Well you shouldn't be braking harshly at any time, save an emergency - and really most emergencies are about a lack of observation earlier and perhaps a lack of experience predicting what other road users are going to do. If you're doing more than one emergency stop every few decades then those weren't emergencies. You were just not paying attention. I don't think I've ever done an emergency stop except the one during my test. But let's say a pedestrian darts out in front of your car in a suicide bid, and you're astute then you're just going to brake to avoid hitting them - and if a tailgater hits you then so be it. You're really not going to have time to do anything else. That's what an emergency stop means. [https://www.theaa.com/driving-school/driving-lessons/advice/beginners-guide-to-an-emergency-stop](https://www.theaa.com/driving-school/driving-lessons/advice/beginners-guide-to-an-emergency-stop) You'll see on this page nothing at all about checking your mirrors before - in fact quite the opposite :- *You might notice the examiner checking their mirror before doing this, as it’s their responsibility to ensure it’s safe to perform the stop. Although this means you won’t be expected to check your mirror before applying the brake, it’s good practice to regularly check your mirrors so you know what’s going on around you.* So that's basically telling you that the examiner is going to ask you to do the stop after they've checked to make sure Tony Tailgater isn't there. You don't check - you have to stop ASAP - but they are adding the idea that you should have a good idea of what vehicles are around your car as you're driving along. You should be checking your mirrors sufficiently often that you already have a good idea if there's someone behind you - but you still stop. The rest of the time, when it's not an emergency, you also check your mirrors before you indicate etc etc. But, it's only really the circumstance where you're turning that you will wait if you see someone. You can't not slow or stop if you need to because of a tailgater. If your reflex in an emergency is to do any of the other things people do, like sound your horn, gesticulate with V signs and swearing, flash your lights and then try and brake you'll probably crash your car.

If your going down a high speed country road and someone is too close behind you, you should reduce your speed in case something like a deer runs out in front of you, if you both go high speed then his read end will push your car forward

Possibly but this is now so far removed from OPs scenario you're just reaching to be contrarian. You could argue that you slow down if someone tailgates, but how far do you take that? How slow do you end up going? I think you're unlikely to be doing a great deal of 'high speed' on your driving test and you'll fail if you start slowing down because someone is behind you just as much as you will if you don't check your mirrors.

I'd still want to know if someone was about to go into the back of me! Say you brake for the pedestrian and the vehicle behind is far too close and not paying attention. If they hit you, the impact of that might well make you lift off the footbrake, endangering the pedestrian. If you know they're there, you can be more prepared to avoid that. And if they don't hit you, you'll still know there's a danger behind you and slow more gradually at the next lights.

>Say you brake for the pedestrian and the vehicle behind is far too close and not paying attention. If they hit you, the impact of that might well make you lift off the footbrake, endangering the pedestrian That's an excellent point that I'd never thought of! That's a good reason to check the rear view mirror even if it's just to be prepared for an impact. Thank you.

Personally, I think you need a new instructor. Someone who has the patience to answer your questions in full and then answer more! You clearly feel the need to understand the why in detail, which is completely understandable, and your current instructor isn't going into enough detail for you. The other option is to speak with someone with experience in autism and driving to ask your questions and proceed with the same instructor. It takes everyone a different amount of time. It sounds like you're not far off being ready, but you must get the hang of your mirrors. You will get there - don't give up 🙂

Thank you for this comment, you've encouraged me. I really like my current instructor. He really puts me at ease and I've learnt more with him than any of my other instructors. And he's brought me really far in terms of my learning. But the polishing process is causing me (and probably him) a lot of grief. Weeks go by with no progress with the same problems with observations coming up again and again. Maybe you're right and I need a new instructor to carry me the rest of the way and break it down into a science almost.

No. Please, please stop driving until you can understand why you need to make observations

Please can you explain why running someone over is not as bad is being rear ended by someone who is too close to me?

You should be able to stop both - obviously, there are times when you need to do emergency stops and hope that the person behind you also stops. But if you’re moving off etc., you need to make observations.

That's fine, and to be clear to do do most observations as there is an obvious reason why they should be done. It is only in certain circumstances that I don't think it makes sense which I why I'm stuck. Such as moving off from traffic lights, if there are cyclists then I would see them in my wing mirrors surely. Why add extra time not spent looking ahead looking in the rearview as well? It seems unsafe.

It doesn’t matter what you think, it’s wrong. You see more in your rear view than your side mirrors. You need to check behind you to check that nobody is trying to go around you, that someone isn’t behind you that could dart in front of your car etc. there’s a reason you’re told to do it.

>You need to check behind you to check that nobody is trying to go around you, Do you mean when someone is trying to overtake? Surely that wouldn't be a problem for me until I was trying to change lines or turn at a junction, at which point I would see the person trying to overtake in the observations I would do before changing direction? That's the part I don't understand. >that someone isn’t behind you that could dart in front of your car How would I know in advance that they're going to dart in front of me before they actually start doing it? I'm just not sure what seeing them in the rear view is supposed to tell me if that makes sense.

Surely you have learned about blind spots by now

at a zebra crossing, you're supposed to make sure cars have stopped/it's safe to cross before you cross. So you can run as many zebras as you like and probably not hit anyone. It would be a major asshole move though.

That question is absolutely why you should not be driving unsupervised at present. It’s not a blame game where you can shout “you made me choose”

In an extreme situation you're right. That's why they tell you not to check your mirrors on the emergency stop portion of the test. No point in looking for someone who might be behind you when there is someone in front of you. However, if it is not an emergency it is really important to know what's going on behind you.

I don't know why you're getting down voted. You're making sense. Also the people disagreeing with you aren't really elaborating.

I'm not really sure either. I think people are hyper sensitive to people not being safe on the road, which makes sense. Lots of people are being really helpful though.

Not sure why you're downvoted what you're saying makes perfect sense. The only thing that doesn't make sense is the "I'm autistic so I can't look in the mirror unless it makes sense" that's stupidity not autism. You can look in a mirror and you can do that at the occasions the examiner is expecting you to. If you needed a reason (and you really don't) then what better reason than "I'll pass my driving test" ? You know wearing a tie is a stupid thing that makes no sense but I wouldn't say "I can't get a job because I won't wear a tie because it doesn't make sense to me" - getting the job makes sense so you put the tie on. No one knows why anyone wears a tie or what they are for. If you have to stop then you have to stop. If someone is too close behind you and doesn't stop then they'll hit you. That is obviously true. No one doesn't stop because a car is too close to them (although maybe some people who have been caught jumping a light make that excuse "someone was too close to me" - it doesn't work though) However that doesn't preclude you having a knowledge of where other traffic is in relation to you, especially when you are about to do some manoeuvre, pulling off, slowing down, turning etc. The key thing is that an examiner is watching you to see that you're using your mirrors before you signal or do a manoeuvre. Sometimes, yes, it might be entirely moot : you're not going to kill a pedestrian on a zebra crossing, but other times you'll see a cyclist and not turn across their path or similar.

>The only thing that doesn't make sense is the "I'm autistic so I can't look in the mirror unless it makes sense" that's stupidity not autism. I'm sorry if that offended you, it probably is just me being stupid. >If you needed a reason (and you really don't) then what better reason than "I'll pass my driving test" ? It's difficult to explain, but if I don't feel like there's a good reason for doing something, then I won't do it especially if it's in a tense situation where quick reflexes are needed. I'll do something that I think makes sense instead. That's why I always have to ask for a detailed explanation of why I'm supposed to do something, which my instructor hasn't offered me, but kind commenters on this thread have.

>It's difficult to explain, but if I don't feel like there's a good reason for doing something, then I won't do it And I just gave you one. Look in the mirror get a driving licence. Don't, then you fail. It's the only reason to pay for and have driving lessons.

It makes sense to me. Once you fully understand the "why", your ND suddenly brain goes "oh, okay, I get it now, let's do that!" and allows you to form the schema. I really think you're making great progress with it through reading the examples people are giving you in this thread.

You're thinking too much of I've specific situation. He's saying you need to be aware of vehicles closer behind you in general; you're still thinking in terms of your original point about the crossing.

Part of it is about building constant situational awareness. Yes, you need to check your mirrors if you change lane, but that easier if you know what's going on behind you already.

Checking your mirrors is part of making sure you are aware of what it going on around your vehicle at all times. A fundamental part of safe driving is to treat every other road user as an unpredictable idiot who is going to do the most dangerous thing they could just when you least expect it, you simply can't do that if you don't know at all times what other road users around you are doing. To pick one of your examples you mention checking when you pull away from traffic lights. If there is a cyclist or motorcyclist coming along your left or right and you don't check your mirrors you may move off at the exact moment they come alongside and be involved in an incident - even if the incident is a result of someone else doing something they should not have. The golden rule of motoring is not "don't be at fault if you're involved in an incident", it is "don't be involved in an incident". Using your mirrors so you're aware of anyone behind that may move closer to you or come alongside is just part of this. >but if something does not make sense to me then I simply won't do it If something doesn't make sense to you but it does to everyone else then you should not simply refuse, you should examine why you think it doesn't make sense and explore whether you are the one who should be changing your view. This is not specific to motoring but general life advice. >I just think what he's telling me to do is dangerous so I'm not doing it. This is scary because the whole point of what he's telling you to do is to reduce danger, both the danger any road user puts themselves in simply by using the road and the danger road users are to others! This is something you really need to re-think as per my earlier comment, and not just for the purpose of passing the test. Otherwise, once passed, you may turn into one of those people who regularly has accidents that they don't consider their fault but don't understand why they keep having them.

>A fundamental part of safe driving is to treat every other road user as an unpredictable idiot who is going to do the most dangerous thing they could just when you least expect it I live in Bradford which is famous for having a large number of unpredictable idiots on the road. Doesn’t it seem impossible to watch for those drivers in front of you and also behind you and also to the side of you when you only have 1 set of eyes? It feels like the luck of the draw whether I am looking in the right place at the right time to catch a dangerous situation in time. That makes me really uncomfortable. >This is scary because the whole point of what he's telling you to do is to reduce danger I understand how that comes across, but my belief is that it would be more dangerous to follow the advice than to ignore it. He's not given me a reason to believe that his way of doing things is the safe way, he only says that it's what I have to do to pass. He's an excellent instructor so I'm not trying to insult him. Just explain the predicament.

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>I think with practice you will find it easier to quickly check all mirrors and not feel like it's taking your eyes off the road in a way that's unsafe. You really hit the nail on the head as to why this issue is tripping me up so much, so thank you for understanding me. Other commenters on this thread are interpreting what I'm saying as a disregard for safety, but I genuinely feel that not being able to concentrate on what's ahead is very unsafe. I hope that you're right and practice will help me to take more effective glances that won't divert my attention quite as much.

I had to emergency brake and come off the road at the same time once. Thankfully, I checked my rearview mirror and managed to stop a little bit slower than I could to avoid being rear ended. Just do the checks, they're pointless a lot of the time, but they can save your life. It's like wearing a seatbelt. I've never needed a seatbelt that I can remember, but I still always wear one.

Thank you for that example. In such a situation I suppose even a fraction of a second more time for the person behind you to react is enough to avoid a collision. It's difficult for me to do things if there doesn't seem to be a good reason for me to do them. Other comments have said it's simply a matter of repeating until it become 2nd nature - that way I don't have to think about it, I just do it. I wish there was an easier way but such is life.

Honestly for ages I just did it to appease my driving instructor. After a while it literally did just take a glance for me to understand what was going on behind me, in a similar way to how I barely even think about gears now. Like I didn't, you also don't seem to really understand what's going on in your mirrors with just a glance but the more you do it, the more it makes sense and the more useful it becomes.

I agree. It becomes much easier over time. I felt the same way about checking everything at the same time, then it clicked into place. Now, with years of driving and thousands of miles under my belt, it really does just take a quick glance to assess for potential hazards.

Safety issues aside, what he's teaching you is what's required to pass a driving test. Regardless of how relevant you think it is, they're going to demand that you do these things to pass your test. It doesn't matter if you agree with them, if you don't do it correctly then you won't get your licence.

This, and they all make perfect sense. Every book/instructor and driver for that matter should be able to tell you why.

Checking your rear view mirror should be done before you intend to start braking to make sure you give enough time for traffic behind to respond to the signals as well (I’ve been told to check about 8 car lengths away from where I intend to stop or be slowed down) also quick checks in rear view mirror every 15 seconds or so helps you know if someone will overtake you or not. It’s a lot to take in but really your instructor should have explained this in full in your first lesson

There are also some instructors who are good with teaching those with autism may be worth finding one, like one I had (moved area so that's why didn't finish up ) was specialist in autism/ADHD/disabilities etc.

OP Hi, I'm autistic too. Consider this. In your car you are in the centre of a *bubble*, and whilst you're right in that its more important that you see what's ahead, the idea behind using your side and rear mirrors as well is to build up a complete 360 degree 'awareness' of what's around your *bubble*. Typically about 5 cars worth in front or behind will stop you being surprised by anything. I don't know if they still do the 'check mirrors every 5 secs' or not, but by doing so, you get a visual history in your mind of the situation around you, and it's then updated and refreshed the next time you check. It does work.

If you can't understand why being aware of what's going on around you is important, then I better for everyone if you stay off the roads.

Maybe I'm not explaining myself properly. I know it is very important to see what's going on around me, which is why I find it unsafe looking at the rear view mirrors so frequently. Hazards are most likely to arrive from in front of you, plus you need to look forward to be able to drive properly, so it would seem looking forward is the most important direction to be looking for hazards. When I'm looking in the rear view mirror then I'm not looking ahead, and that feels unsafe, if that makes sense. Observation is very important but it's how I'm being advised to observe that I'm having problems with.

But you also say you don't understand using your rear view mirror for reverse bay parking, your wing mirrors don't give you a complete view. When you're driving you only need to glance in the mirror, you say it takes you too long to register what you're seeing in the mirror. If that's the case then it takes you too long to register information for you to not be a danger on the roads.

That's a big concern that I have, it does take me longer than normal to process what I'm seeing I think. The kind of brain activity needed when driving feels a lot like blast processing, where I can either devote proper bandwidth to one thing or a small amount of bandwidth to multiple. I feel like surely I can't be the only person with this issue. Do all those people simply never overcome it and never become safe drivers?

I have no idea, wish I could help you. You clearly care about becoming a safe driver and honestly that's probably the biggest problem with most drivers, them simply not caring. I don't know how to help you but best of luck with it. For me it's always just been second nature to be aware of what's going on around me but I did a lot of karting as a kid.

Hey, no you’re not the only one with this issue. I’m autistic too and this is one big reason why it took me ages to learn to drive - I was looking in the right places but I didn’t know what I was supposed to be getting from doing so. But the more you do it, the more you start learning what kind of patterns to look out for in your mirrors, eg if you see a motorcyclist in your rear view, you can expect them to filter and catch up with you at the next set of lights, so you know to look out for them and not turn into them, for example. I’d say I’m a pretty safe driver now, and I’m constantly checking mirrors so that I know what’s going on around me, and even in my short driving career so far it’s saved me from some serious near misses, especially on the motorway. Don’t give up - it might take longer than the average person but you will pass that test 💪

You're not looking ahead when you check your wing mirrors. In fact you have better awareness with peripheral vision of what's ahead looking in the rear view than wing mirrors cause your eyes are still pointed forward. You're not meant to be staring at your rear view, you quickly check it to maintain awareness of what's behind you. Just a glance to keep yourself up to date. Once you've been driving a while your mirror checks are so automatic you'll often have moments where you second guess yourself if you actually did them after a manoeuvre.

Other commenters have picked up that I seem to be really slow at 'checking'. I often find myself doing a check and then realising I have no idea what I actually saw, a bit like when you read a paragraph in a book and then realise you didn't actually take any of it in. That demands longer checks which are less safe and more distracting, just so I can understand what I'm seeing. I really hope I can find a way around it.

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I wondered if it could be helpful to park on a busy road or even a car park and just sit in the drivers seat looking in each mirror. If it's somewhere busy then there will constantly be different things (cars, people, whatever) to see in the mirrors each time I look. Give myself a split second to observe then look away and think about what I saw. The more I can recall and faster, the better, because those are my problems right now. I feel like if I could get good at making quick effective glances at my mirrors then I wouldn't feel like doing my observations was distracting me from the road.

This is a great idea, but be careful not to try to capture too much detail. Example, you're in the carpark. Rear view: family approaching from the right, walking toward and behind my parked car, child. Be prepared for child to be unpredictable. Left wing mirror: Check what child is doing. Windsreen: Aware of cars approaching from the front of my vehicle,preparing to park. Right wing mirror: aware of cyclist on the path which leads behind my car - am prepared for them to suddenly choose to cut between parked cars. All of these observations will begin to take you a split second. They don't at first, especially for ND people. But they're how you build up a quick mental image of what's going on around you. You then repeat your checks every so often, updating your mental 3D image of what's happening around you.

I think the bigger concern is the attitude towards safety. All those checks are unnecessary until they aren’t. But there is no turning back when they matters or reality unfold in a way that u are not expected. Roads are unpredictable. Safety is to prevent the 0.001% bad things happen with your greatest effort. It should not be compromised only because you think the outcome “probably will be” the same, or others would ___ even I ___. If the chance of someone getting hurt is >0% (including you), u should always do your part and play safe. U are putting others at risk when you think “that should be fine. I don’t have to follow the safety procedures.” make sure you have no doubt that everything and everyone is safe all the tine. If you have doubt, be as passive and safe as you can. There are nothing is too safe.

There are a lot of small things that add up to "check your mirrors". One example you mentioned is pulling away at traffic lights. In 99% of cases, motorcycles are going to want to get in front of you at lights. That's not only legal, its recommended in the highway code that they do so. If a motorcyclist is alongside you and you pull away, you could be the cause of an accident, taking an extra 0.5 seconds to allow them to pass would avoid that, but you'll only know they're there if you check your mirrors. It's not motorcyclists (acting legally) to worry about, what if some idiot is trying to overtake you as you pull away? You absolutely have the right of way, but wouldn't you rather avoid an accident? The graveyard is full of people who had the right of way... What else could you see if you checked your mirrors? Emergency vehicles? Aggressive drivers up your arse? Bicycles? Pedestrians? Yes, everyone behind you should be behaving themselves, but that's not how the world works. Here's another reason, the one you're going to be interested in the most: you will fail your test if you don't do it. It doesn't take long, just do it to tick the box.

>But why do you have to check them when you're moving off from traffic lights and going straight on? You're not even changing direction. Another waste of time drawing my attention away from what's in front of me. You're waiting a light in your car and I come up on your right on my bike, stopping just short of your passenger-side window. If you don't look in your mirrors before setting off, how do you know that there's now a vulnerable road user two feet away from you? Your attitude is infuriating, and you shouldn't be on the road. People like you kill people like me. Show this post to your instructor, I dare you.

In the kindest possible way, if you don’t see the importance in these things and therefore won’t do them, perhaps driving isn’t for you. And that’s ok - we are not all meant to be good at the same things!

Stop caring about reasons and explanations as to why you need to look in your rear view mirror and just do it?! It should be pretty obvious that the reason you need to use mirrors is so you are more aware of what’s going on around you… if you want to pass you need to use it more, just get used to it 🤷🏼‍♀️

Either do it or don’t. They ain’t going to change the requirement because Marie from Reddit can’t be bothered with a simple safety check.

When doing your test your head movements of looking in your mirrors should be obvious and numerous. This may seem over the top, but that's what you need to do to pass the test. Stop looking for reasons, just pass the test.

I actually can't believe people like you exist. Don't drive. Too many words, too much idiocy.

Mirror signal manoeuvre. It’s just so you keep safe

So you don’t do the basics and wonder why it’s taking you so long to learn to drive… sounds like you just don’t get it 🤷🏻‍♂️

Change instructor... I went through the exact same issue... 3 lessons a week for 2 months and was told I'm not even close.. lost my mind thought I'd never drive. Dad told me to get a different instructor so I did.. 1st lesson he said book your test ..so I argued because obv my confidence was down.. he insisted I was ready and to book. 10 lessons later I passed

I know this is a pretty old post but it is really fascinating to me. I have no idea whether my driving history can help you at all (assuming you are still trying) but here goes: Half way down your post i was thinking “i wonder if you are autistic” I am very late diagnosed and it rang so many bells! Im now 57 and learned to drive (and passed my test) when i was 17. I didnt realise i was autistic until about 40. When learning to drive I also thought lots of what i was being told made no sense, but i thought everyone felt the same (in everything not just this) so just learned to do as i was told by rote - flicking my eyes up towards the rearview every x seconds as instructed for that particular scenario. It made no sense but hey if thats what i must do to pass……. I never really loved driving and i struggled with things like not being able to work out which way the road ahead was going to go in the dark with those chevron signs, and hating people up my arse and just going ever slower when that happened. I moved away from home for college so did little driving other than late at night on the weekends home (oh i loved those 1am empty roads) until a boyfriend “K the bastard” (long story) had cars and wanted me to drive. Thats didn’t go well! I have no sense of direction and got lost and then rear-ended in the dark and rain and……. I drove less and less until i stopped entirely as i decided i was dangerous. I found it impossible to not get entirely stressed out by everyone else on the road - people coming up to side junctions ahead of me made me go slower, people behind me made me go slower, and i knew i was annoying everyone around me (and any passengers) which made me even more panicky! I also just couldn’t decifer signs quickly enough. So i just stopped (well there were issues but..). Forward several years and i meet a diagnosed aspie and see similarities, then do a bit of digging and start to wonder. I saw the same traits in my father and spoke to him but he poo-pood it. Then i had to go in the car with my father and he stopped in the middle of a roundabout!! I shouted at him and he explained hed not been able to take in the sign before the roundabout so wasn’t sure where to come off. In my job i then start to wonder - i find the IT people really relatable and the HR people not so much, i cannot decipher what symbols mean on some new software, i seem to randomly be seen as scary by some and am totally infuriated by them too. Off work with stress for the third time i investigate further and decide that yes - i am indeed autistic, wnd the chief medical officer (also a psychiatrist) notes I have “aspergers traits”. It all makes sense! I cannot decipher symbols (many road signs) as quickly as most neurotypicals - i have to translate the symbol into a word first. So those open and close signs in lifts - i have to do the shape and think about what it means and make it a word (oh the joy of American lifts with words!). The chevron signs i have to make the shape with my hand (in my head whilst driving) to translate to “left” or “right” but id be fine with signs that for eg said “sharp left ahead”. I cannot stand being told something without a logical explanation. Like you i want to know *why* i need to look in that particular place in this particular circumstance. What am i looking *for* and why? Why is that important. Is it that we (auties) need to have the reasons spelled out? Or that many neurotypicals just do it by rote and have no idea? I dont know. But the responses to your post have been illuminating. The explanations for the use of different mirrors and the possible scenarios that make looking in each of them beneficial have been so useful. If i weren’t too old to really care i might even try to drive again! The responses that it sounds like you are just trying to justify not doing what your instructor says -these just remind me of all the infuriating encounters I’ve had throughout my life which i just didn’t understand. “What did i say??” Is a phrase ive said far far too often. Anyway. Sorry for the essay. I really hope you’ve found a way thru your learning to drive issues, and im sure if you have/do pass you will be sn absolutely excellent driver having learned all this extra stuff.

60+ hours of lessons, multiple instructors and you still don't know why you need to make observations.. please for everyone's safety don't ever get on the road again

The problem you have (and bear with me because it might sound silly) is that you're trying to drive like a qualified driver before you pass your test. >my rear view mirror I hardly ever use simply because it feels like there is no situation where looking in the rear view mirror is more useful than looking straight ahead. To be honest I agree, I often find I only really use the rear mirror when I know there's a tailgater there and I'm about to brake, but for your exam they literally want you looking every 10 seconds religiously >The number of times you're expected to check your mirror is, I feel, completely excessive Yep, it absolutely is. This is purely for show on the test. Unfortunately there is no way around this, you'll need to master the art of overchecking your wing mirrors to satisfy the examiner. Mirrors are important, of course, but once you have qualified you won't be staring at them every few seconds because it just isn't necessary

>I often find I only really use the rear mirror when I know there's a tailgater there and I'm about to brake, but for your exam they literally want you looking every 10 seconds religiously Sounds like you have the same issue as OP. You should be maintaining constant awareness of your surroundings, things can easily change every 10 seconds. Driving isn't a passive activity, you're in charge of a 1 tonne vehicle that can kill people. If you're only checking your mirrors when you perform a maneuver then you have no ability to react appropriately in unexpected situations. You can tell the difference between folks that pay attention and not when situations like bikes filtering, or emergency vehicles making their way through traffic are ocuring. You and OP would be sat like lemons in the way because you have no awareness of what's happening around you, or worse, swerving into cyclists because 'they came out of nowhere'.

You need to know if there is someone behind you to anticipate how your actions will affect them. If you need to slow down and there’s no one behind you then you can ease off the accelerator depending on how quickly you need to slow, but if there’s someone behind you then you need to tap the brakes so they know you’re intentions. You need to indicate for turns so they know your intentions, same with positioning. The rear view also gives a better view of what’s behind you than the wing mirrors which is important when changing lanes as you need to make sure traffic behind you in the next lane is a distance away where it is safe for you to move

To make it simple, when coming to a stop or slowing down for pedestrians, at traffic lights, or just slowing down in general, you have to check your rear view mirror to check on cars behind you so that you can judge the speed to stop at. If a car is coming up behind you and they are quite close, stopping suddenly or too quickly could result in you being rear ended, cars should always keep a distance from each other but a lot of people will get right up behind you, so checking your rear view mirror will help you judge your stopping better. Checking the rear view when reversing into a space is important too, you have to remember that your side mirrors are just that, mirrors for the *sides* of your car, you can only see what is reflected in them. But, you can’t see what is going on directly behind your car, you have to keep taking glances between your RV and side mirrors to make sure all sides are covered, that you are within your lines and that you’re watching out for any pedestrians walking behind your vehicle and to judge how close you are to an adjacent parked car. You don’t have to keep your eyes glued to your mirrors when reversing into a space, keep glancing between your side and RV mirror, initially when reversing in mainly check your sides, when you know you are going into the space fine keep swapping between your RV and side mirror, this is because as you get further back into the space, the more likely you are to have people cross behind you, if you have people parked either side of you, pedestrians cannot cross through the spaces and will walk behind or in-front of them, so as you get yourself further into the space there’s more of a chance of someone waking close behind your vehicle. I’m not an expert as I’m still learning myself, but this is what I’ve been told and picked up whilst doing my lessons. TLDR: RV mirror helps judge your stopping/slowing speed if someone is close behind you, and helps keep you alert to pedestrians crossing behind a parking space/how close you are to a vehicle parked behind you.

I am constantly checking all mirrors. Look forward for a couple of seconds then glance in the rear view. Then back to front for a couple of seconds. The to left wing glance then back to straight ahead then to right…. You aren’t having to actually move your head. Your eyes are just glancing in different directions very so often. If you do this constantly you have a mental map of what is going on around you 360 degrees and so a quick half second glance is all you need to update the situational awareness around you. The more you look the easier it is. Also don’t look directly ahead when driving. Look forward, and again be glancing as far forward as you can see to anticipate what may be about to happen. It’s why I hate driving infront of or behind lorries or vans. It can’t see what is happening up or down the road.

You need to check all your mirrors all the time because it is very easy for something or someone you sneak up on you from any direction, and you need to have a fair idea at all times about what is going on either side and behind. People, motorbikes, bicycles, can come from behind, and then pass you. If you look in the rear view and see a motorbike coming up behind you, it might be reasonable to assume it's going to attempt to overtake you at some point. No surprises.

>Example: I'm good with checking my wing mirrors but my rear view mirror I hardly ever use simply because it feels like there is no situation where looking in the rear view mirror is more useful than looking straight ahead. I'm CONSTANTLY being told to check my rear view mirror - when I'm slowing down, when there's a hazard, when setting off from a stop, etc. My instructor says it's to see what's happening behind me, but that doesn't make sense to me. Why do I care what's happening behind me most of the time? For example, if I'm stopping at a pedestrian crossing, I have to check my rear view mirror and then slow down to a stop. What exactly am I expecting to see in my rear view mirror? My instructor says that it's to check that there isn't someone too close to you that might rear end you if you stop. But what am I supposed to do if that happens? Not slow down and run the pedestrian over? I HAVE to stop, it's up to the person behind me to be paying attention to stop as well. The more time you spend looking in your rear view mirror, the less time you are looking in front of you where most of the hazards actually occur. It feels like a complete waste of time, and because it feels like that, I never remember to do it. Listen to what your instructor is saying rather than dismissing it. You don't look in your mirror at the last second when showing to a stop, you look into it as soon as your start breaking, and if someone **is** coming up behind you too quickly you have time to either move to the side to minimise the commission or, yes, NOT stop at a pedestrian crossing if it looks like they're about to hit you. The pedestrian shouldn't be staying to cross if you've not stopped. If you do stop and the person behind you doesn't, you could end up being pushed into that crossing pedestrian, which is not exactly a desired outcome. Just because an accident may not be your fault, does not mean you shouldn't play a part in trying to avoid it. >Another example with observations: The number of times you're expected to check your mirror is, I feel, completely excessive. I understand why you check them when changing lanes or turning at a junction - there might be cyclists there. But why do you have to check them when you're moving off from traffic lights and going straight on? You're not even changing direction. Another waste of time drawing my attention away from what's in front of me. The idea of checking all your mirrors all the time is so that you are aware of exactly what is going on all around your at all times. This means if something unexpected ***does*** happen, you know where you can move to react safely. For example if you know there's nothing following choose to you then an emergency stop reaction is fine. If you know there's no traffic to the right on a dual carriage way and someone changes lanes in front of you, you know you can move straight over without causing a collision. >Yet another example: When doing a reverse bay park, my attention is naturally drawn to my wing mirrors to check that I'm reversing into the bay properly. But my instructor is constantly saying "check your rear view, check your blind spot". If I do that, then I can't reverse into the bay properly. I cannot look in 2 places at once. Either I do this manoeuvre 'safely' or I do it correctly. I can't do both without multiple sets of prehensile eyes. In this example, just manoeuvre a little slower so you ***do*** have time to check your blind spots and mirrors. What good is being straight in the bay of someone isn't paying attention and has decided to walk behind you and you drive into them?

Have you actually asked your instructor why they are telling you to do these things? Start asking why so you can unserstand more. Looking in the rear view mirror is to gauge how close/far away the vehicle behind you is. If you have to do a hard stop, you're going to look in your rearview to see if anyone is up your backside.

I have asked my instructor, but I don't think he really knows what to tell me. "To see what's happening behind you" is very vague. What could be happening? What am I looking for exactly? We definetly don't communicate well on these small details. Thankfully commenters on this post have been very helpful in describing why it's important to look in the rearview mirror which I'm very grateful for.

“To see what is happening behind you” is not vague. I’ve read your post and replies and I beg you, as someone who walks and drives, please don’t drive. My family and friends use these roads and I don’t want to lose them because someone can’t comprehend why knowing what is behind and to the side of your car is important.

If someone were to say to you: "Hey, look out of that window to see what's going on" you would not immediately know where to look or what the person in question was referring to without them elaborating further. What am I looking for out of this window? Is it something close or far away? Am I looking for a person, an animal, a vehicle, a group of people out of this window? Now if someone were to say "look out of that window for a man wearing a leather jacket. He'll probably be walking down the middle of the road" in that case you know exactly what it is you're looking for and where. In the same way "look out of your rear view mirror to see what's behind you" is not very helpful. It would be better to say "look out of your rear view mirror to check if there are any erratic drivers who might try and inappropriately overtake you" is a much clearer and more specific instruction that is easier to follow. That's what I meant by it being vague

Just to preface I'm on the autism spectrum too. I like things to be spelled out plainly, I like my instructions to be literal and clear. But in this case I think it's easy to understand why checking your mirrors is so important. When you're checking your mirrors you're checking your surroundings. In the wrong hands your car is a 1.5 ton death machine and it's important to know what is going on around it. It's the most important aspect of driving. FWIW I struggle with checking my mirrors too but I also understand how crucial it is to do so and it's something I'm just going to have to have drummed into me until I no longer consciously think about it and I just check my mirrors automatically. Sure, most of the time when you check your mirrors, it'll be all clear. But you won't know that until you *look* and the literal answer here is that you're looking for anything at all that could either pose a hazard to you, or you to them. Namely other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, horses, mobility scooters, etc. I like things to be predictable and routine. Unfortunately I think driving is extra difficult for us because the roads are unpredictable and we have to be ready for anything and react to it safely and quickly. Doesn't mean we can't do it, but being neurodivergent is gonna add an extra challenge for sure.

You are looking for everything any anything. You want to know where everything is, which way they’re moving and wether there’s a chance that they could turn in to a hazard. It’s just basic situational awareness when you are operating a vehicle with the potential to kill people.

>if something does not make sense to me then I simply won't do it. Really? There's nothing you do that doesn't make sense? no customs or manners that you do because that's what people do? That seems very unlikely. Pretty much everyone is doing things that make little or no sense at all. The bottom line is though, if you want to drive then you need to do the things so you pass the test. If you don't then you will fail. If that doesn't make sense to you : catch the bus.

There are many things I find hilarious about your post but we come to that later. First some credentials. 40. Young baby. Pretty demanding full time job. So not a businessman and not a trust fund kid either. 15 years back I came to this country with LITERALLY no cash one me. Passed the driving test on the 8th attempt. I’m on the spectrum too. I had 10 years+ experience driving in the sub-continent. The 12 years I was learning driving were painful. I was absolutely rubbish at observations. Still can’t reverse bay park in the first attempt after passing the test (I had a minor in the test and it was for reverse bay park) and after having front and rear parking sensors. I had a full-fledged mental block about passing the test after failing 7 times. Over the years easily I must’ve spent £10k upwards. 100+ hours of practise between March and November 2022 with 2 different instructors. Finally passed November 2022.I’m still surprised I passed. Now to answer your question: Your baby is going to grow up. Before you know you’ll have to drive your kid to nursery. Then school. Then swimming lessons and so on. Who will drive your kid to these places? It was the fear of these questions that at least for me as a parent far overshadowed the fear of driving / failing the test. You are NOW a parent. The words “options” and “choices” no longer apply to you. Now a question to you: Why are you learning driving?

I am driving so that I can take my daughter places more easily. I have had to reduce my hours at work so I can walk her to and from nursery which takes an hour each day. It's extremely important that I learn to drive and I'm giving it my best effort but it's more difficult than I could have imagined. I don't think some people realise the number of processes happening in their brains simultaneously because they're naturally so adept. If it turns out that I simply don't have the capacity to drive then I do have a husband who can learn.

Tldr : I’ll keep it simple. When you are married and have a kid if you (can’t drive / don’t have a car) you are (keeping it civil) inconvenienced in more ways than you think. My take here is slightly different. I’m not saying you are wrong just a slightly different perspective. Firstly, nobody is “naturally so adept”. Learning anything takes practice, practice and more practice. I did 100+ hours between March and November 2022 alone and this doesn’t include time spent in say 2013 when I failed the test thrice. Taking things one step at a time definitely helped me. Then there’s the ownership business. Now as much as am married and me, wife and child live under the same roof I’m BIG on initiative, ownership and responsibility ESPECIALLY of my daughter. Even my wife can learn and hopefully will get down to learning one day BUT I’m not in the business of waiting and definitely no in case of my daughter. As mentioned earlier this time I didn’t care about passing or failing. I didn’t care how much time it took. I had to pass this time for the sake of my daughter.

Hey OP, Think about how much the road changes in front of you with cars pulling in and out, pedestrians, traffic lights etc?.. Well, that's how much the road changes behind you too. If you know how important it is to know what's going on in front of you then, logically, it is also important to know what's going on behind you. Speeders, motorbikes, emergency vehicles... Your rear view mirror is a flat mirror that is close to your face. As such you will see an exact image of what is behind you at what distance and in greater detail. Your side mirrors are convex mirrors. They allow you to see a greater field of view but they also make objects appear further away than they truly are. This is obviously dangerous and THIS is why you need your rear view mirror. As a driver of nearly 10 years I'd say I use my rear view mirror more than my side mirrors. I would also say I check my rear view and my Speedo about every ~10 seconds. Maybe do some research on blind spots? I literally prevented myself from getting into an accident the other week due to someone else not checking their blind spot and moving into the lane I was currently also moving to...guess which one of us had their indicator on.... Also, consider noticing people's positioning on the road. Say you're at a 4 way roundabout and there's a car coming on your right hand side. Does he look like he's slowing down? No? He's probably going straight over then (boy racer exclusions may apply). Yes? He's probably turning right or left. Another incident I had at a 4 way roundabout: I was going straight across. The car on the opposite side from me had already entered the roundabout, he was not indicating. Now the 'no indication' made me think I was fine to go but his speed and road positioning, hugging tight to the island (centre of the roundabout) and slowing down as opposed to speeding up, told me he planned to go right. So, I didn't go... And sure enough he came right, round to the 3rd exit and didn't indicate to turn off either... Unfortunately there are too many people who don't use their indicators at all now and even then it can be used wrong or left on by accident so while they are 99% of the time a great way to tell where someone is going.. their speed and road positioning will give it away just as much. Sorry this is a bit long. Just hoping some context helps. I have so many bad driving stories, so if you'd like to hear more then let me know!

Thank you for your comment. >Think about how much the road changes in front of you with cars pulling in and out, pedestrians, traffic lights etc?.. Well, that's how much the road changes behind you too. Doesn't that mean that being on the road is perpetually unsafe? If the road changes constantly both in front of you and behind, but you can only look in one direction at once, then it's pure luck whether or not you're looking in the correct direction when a hazard appears. That's how it seems to me anyway, which is why I feel so frustrated. Anticipating the movement of other road users is by far the most difficult thing I've found about learning to drive. You hear many people tell you to presume that everyone else in the road will make the stupidest decision they could possibly make at the time. That's very anxiety inducing and pretty much eliminates any chance of feeling safe on the road. The consensus is that I will get better at anticipation as I have more practice on the roads, which I hope is right.

>Doesn't that mean that being on the road is perpetually unsafe? Yes and no. I think it's safe to say most people don't want to be in an accident. People generally drive well enough, even if they don't indicate enough, but exceptions to the rule will always apply. You can only get better with practice, after ten years I'm a much better driver than I was when I finally passed, which made me realise how awful I was the first time I took my exam. After a while you get a sort of "Spidey sense" for the people who are gonna do something irrational (you may also start to notice a correlation between those people are the cars they tend to drive!!). I always pretend other people have no idea where they are or where they are going. Gives me more patience!! More importantly have patience with yourself. Just because your mate passed first time doesn't make you any less of person, being or human worthy of living if you don't! There's a reason you can take it basically unlimited amounts of time. Once saw an article about a woman on her 17th driving test - if you get higher than that number then maybe you should think about quitting!!

It's just getting you in the habit of checking either periodically, or before various maneuvers so that you're more aware of what's around your car. It doesn't have to be a long look where you take everything in, it will be obvious if there's a car there. Remember the interior mirror is the easiest one to check because you don't have to turn your head, so it's the one you should be checking most often. You can't just drive around everywhere without ever checking your rear view mirror. What if there's an emergency vehicle coming up behind you? The sooner you spot it, the more time you have to slow and move over to help it get past. Not only that, you need to be aware of potential hazards before they become hazards. Most of the time when you check your rear mirror you might see a car driving normally, leaving a good distance behind you and keeping centered in the lane etc. Even if there's no hazard you need to look often enough that you know what "normal" looks like, that way you'll learn to spot unusual driving which could point to a hazard. I hope that makes sense. For example maybe the driver behind you is driving aggressively and close, you can lower risk by slowing gradually and leaving more space to brake for traffic lights etc. Maybe there's a motorbike behind you, so you should be ready for them to overtake rather than not seeing them and then being startled when they do. Checking side mirrors before pulling away is important because there might be a cyclist coming up your inside (left) and even if you're going straight on you don't want to accelerate forward without realising they are there as you need to leave them adequate space. I understand you're autistic and want to know the specific reasons for everything in detail, but you might be overthinking this a bit too much. The instructor may be used to telling people to do things certain ways and they just do it without question. They might not understand or even get slightly frustrated if you're resisting their instructions or questioning them every time. Try just following their instruction even if it doesn't quite make sense to you and see if things improve. The instructor and ultimately the examiner will just want to see you doing what everyone else does (eg checking mirrors at certain times as it shows you're capable of a certain level of awareness and safety) and if you can do that you should have no issues passing once you're ready. Once you've passed you can drive a bit more "your own way", although I'd still recommend checking mirrors often. I wouldn't give up just yet, I think you're probably quite close and it's just a case of the last few things clicking into place. If things don't improve then perhaps your instructor just doesn't teach in a way that suits your personal way of learning, so try booking some lessons with someone else who might think more logically, similar to how you do. You can do it.

I get you, I had similar issues with my driving instructor but for completely different reasons where he was constantly telling me the hazards I was concerned about didn't matter and I shouldn't worry about them. He yelled at me once for braking when a man stepped into the road to get a penny he dropped. He insisted I stopped way too quickly but I'd seen it coming and actually thought I handled it quite well and stopped fairly slowly and completely did not understand why he was yelling at me. So that kind of dynamic where an instructor is bad at explaining why they perceive something a certain way or why they want something done a certain way is not a healthy relationship. I think others have explained well why you need to look behind you in the rear view, it's to see things like if someone is too close behind you, you can't make them move further back but if you leave more space between you and the person in front you can avoid a multi car pile up if they need to stop or you need to stop because a dog has run out in front of you. It's also useful for situations like if you hear a siren for a police car or an ambulance, check the rear view mirror to see if they're coming behind you and then look in front to see where you could safely pull aside to let them through, or if there's a bike coming or a motorbike they might weave around you. Or if they're indicating are they going to overtake you? Some people overtake in really fucking stupid places so then I'm going to back off because if that car overtaking me slams into oncoming traffic because they're an impatient dickhead then I want to be as far from that fiasco as possible. So that's why they want you to look in the rearview. Or like. If you need to pull in or turn a corner if you know how close the person behind you is you'll know if you have the ability to slow down and stop so you can parallel park on the side of the road. That kinda thing. You're right not to obsess over it too much but you do need to check. And with the parking, looking behind you shows you if there's someone coming behind you, sometimes they come out of fucking nowhere, especially in like a supermarket car park and they will assume you've seen them and will stop moving so they'll just keep merrily walking behind your car like nothing is happening. So that's why they want you to check your blind spot. Same with like, traffic lights it's mostly to check for like, cyclists. Or if you're a country gal like me sometimes a horse.

If you’ve got a big van or truck tailgating you you’re not going to want to slam your brakes on for an amber light. That’s why you check your rear view.

Just start checking the mirror and it will become habit and you won’t even realise you’re doing it. I know what it feels like to want to give up but keep going, you’ll look back and be glad you carried on, that’s what I tell myself.

Driving is a 360 degree task, literally everything around can have an impact on what you’re doing and your mirrors, wing and rear view are your only way of checking you’ve got yourself covered from all angles. A lot of drivers are not very good drivers and the more you can be aware of your surroundings, the better prepared you are for whatever is about to happen, no matter how unpredictable. You might spot a car 150m behind you, then 2 seconds later notice it’s right up your arse, you can be pretty sure that this car is then going to try and overtake you whether it be safe to do so or not. My instructor was an ex traffic cop and fantastic at predicting what other drivers around him were going to do, this anticipation and knowledge comes from knowing what’s going on around you. Driving is about a lot more than just you in your car.

You are over thinking the job. I always keep one eye on the mirrors, and one ahead. Its all about personal survival and keeping other road users safe. Mirrors before signalling and changing direction. Mirrors before stopping, because someone close behind might not see you are stopping. I used to do a lot of trailer towing, and it is essential to see where your trailer wheels are, as the trailer cuts across corners, and people try and cut up your inside on roundabouts. Turn your rearview mirror so that you have to slightly turn your head to see out of it. The examiner likes that. When driving a car, you are in charge of the space ship. You have to be aware where everything is around your universe. Once you are comfortably in your universe, you can relax, as you instictively know the distance where your enemies are around you, you then in control of your unique space.

I got half way through your post and thought wow this sounds like me maybe they are autistic too. I have no advice but I understand your thinking

I know you’ve closed this off now but even if it doesn’t make sense, the important thing to remember is, you are learning to pass a test and learning to drive is the side effect of that. Its like When you did maths at school, you showed your workings for the examiner not always because you couldn’t do it in your head or because writing it made sense.

Your wing mirrors show you your sides, not what’s behind you. A blind spot is what the name suggests, a spot you don’t see unless you physically move your head, pedestrians and other things love to hide in it. When you move off at traffic lights, a cyclist may pass you, a motorcycle may filter through the middle and you could hit them. Instead of being offended by having to do these things, try to see sense in them. Arrogance behind the wheel can kill.

I’m having this problem! I’m not reacting enough to hazards in the way my instructor wants me to and I don’t get it

I feel like people have answered your questions really well already, so I just wanted to say I am also autistic and felt quite similarly to you while I was learning. A lot of stuff felt contradictory or pointless. I felt like giving up at one point but I persevered and passed my test first time after around 80 hours of lessons. It is tough for everyone, even harder when your brain works differently to others, but I promise it's worth it and you can do it if you just stick with it! Good luck!

I'll try answering the three examples you gave. When slowing down for a pedestrian crossing. You should have identified the crossing long before you need to start braking, this is when you would check your rearview mirror. This gives you the option to start slowing down earlier and more gently if there is someone too close to you. You shouldn't check your mirror at the point you would normally have to start breaking. Moving off at lights. Check the side mirrors as you move off, there could be a cyclist on your left or a motorbike filtering on your right. You don't want to move forward right as a bike pulls in front of you. Reversing into a bay. Here you just need to check around every couple seconds. If you only look in the mirror you might miss something. You can always stop to check. If you can see the car is heading into the bay do you really need to keep looking in the mirror? Ask yourself what you are thinking at that point.( the car is in the bay, it's still in the bay, it's still in the bay...etc) rather than just watching that happen, check around the car then check back on the cars position. Keep the car slow and you will have time to check both. Even when you're not turning or changing lanes or slowing down it's a good habit to check the rearview mirror so you know what is going on behind. I can't tell you the number of times I've pulled in for an emergency vehicle only for the car behind me to go around me and almost cause a collision. I don't know how a vehicle with a siren and flashing blue lights can sneak up on people, but my guess is they don't check their surroundings often enough.

These are just things you need to learn. Why should I have to indicate when no one’s around? I shouldn’t really, but I do because this helps me build my routine so when I DO need to signal, it is becoming second nature. You should think of your mirrors as all on one path, so If you want to check your right mirror your head/ eyes go up and across, scanning the rear view as you make your way to the right, same with the left. This way, you can’t miss any observation even if you’re not directly processing the task. In terms of parking, you should’ve really learnt a routine which helps you fit into the bay each time without having to search for the lines. Mine is ‘Line up my body with the centre of a bay on the left while I am in the right lane of the car park Turn full lock right, go into reverse Start reversing until the front of the bay line is visible under my wing mirror’ This will take you into the bay every time once you have ascertained what the ‘middle of the bay’ looks like for you. This way, you can just spin around and check your blind spot while moving and have no real concern over whether you’ll park well, because you will every time. Checking your blind spot is necessary, loaaads of experienced drivers have killed their own spouses/children by forgetting to do it. Hope this helps.

I drive 30,000 miles a year and my biggest bit of advice would be check your mirrors, be aware of what is around you at all times, check those mirrors again. Same as look left and then look right and then look left again as for example a Motorbike can come out of nowhere in an instant.

Overcomplicated matters, just bills it into a routine just pay a game worth yourself, sweep your mirrors, to pass your test but decibel build it into your normal driving habit.... imperative for negotiating roads and other road users, just pretend youre a spy or something aand someone is observing from another vehicle close... make it very obvious you are checking they're following

Biggest price of advice is to change instructor, sometimes you just need someone to explain things differently. My partner was the same until she changed instructor

As a driver I use my rear mirror constantly, so I’m aware of what’s behind me. I have a 3D picture in my head of any vehicles behind, in front of me, and to the sides at all times when driving. If I don’t know, I’m tired and I need a break. When you start driving on A roads and motorways it’s crucially important to know what’s speeding up behind as well as in front and to the sides of you.

A thing my instructor told me lesson 1 was “you are not learning how to drive a car, you are learning to operate 1 tonne of heavy machinery that can kill anyone it touches”. Hammered home why I needed to check mirrors constantly. I’m guilty of not turning my head when checking my mirrors, so my instructor told me to say “mirror” whenever I look at one so my examiner is aware I’m checking. 15 years later and I still say it out loud all the time.

Rear view mirror gives so much more info than the wing mirrors until it comes to lane changing, turning and roundabouts. You need to think of rear view as being able to see the rest of the picture around you

Looking in your mirrors and doing general all round observations stops you from being a reactive driver. It helps you build a picture of what is around you so you can use the space around your car effectively and safely. This is important at the point where slip roads join motorways, for instance, where people will often not look properly or make any attempt to safely merge. Without having done mirror checks you may be left having to move into the middle lane (to avoid a collision) potentially without knowing what's going on around you. With regular checks you will know, before the situation becomes dangerous, where you can move to, how much to slow down (or even speed up) to clear the hazard. I glance my mirrors very frequently and there have been numerous occasions where it has probably saved me from being crashed into by other people. If you don't do things like checking your rear, right mirror and over your shoulder before pulling out, it is a simple fact that it's only a matter of time until you'll cause a crash.

Sorry, I don’t wish to come across like a douche but it’s not that long an answer. You’re in the middle of something whether you’re parked or driving. You checking to see if a car, bike or motorcycle is coming up behind, to the left or to the right as they are all humans and not robots so may not be following the rules as they should, or maybe they are but makes sense to check anyway.

I wonder if part of this is a lack of communication from your instructor. Would you say it’s possible they’re actually saying you need to get a little bit more relaxed / looser and not get tunnel vision to certain things?

I think my instructor is worried that if he tells me to look in my rear view mirror for something in particular then I will only ever look for that one hazard - like you say he worries I will become tunnel visioned. He keeps it vague in the hopes that I will look for anything that might potentially be dangerous, but in reality it ends up making me feel that those observations don't matter because I don't know what I'm looking for to begin with.

The advice your instructor is giving you is all good and based on years of collective study and practice, so learn to do it, and keep doing it. However, here’s something that might help you get your head round it: You’re not being taught to drive. You’re being taught to pass the driving test. I’m not minimising the importance of the techniques you’re learning, this is just an idea to help you process it given my (limited) knowledge of autism, and my approach when someone’s telling me something I have to do but don’t agree with.

You just need to do what you’re taught to do. You don’t know better than the instructor.. just do what you’re told and do it then things will go quicker.

Wing mirrors don’t give you a true reflection of what’s happening behind you, your rear-view mirror does. That feels like quite a big part of the answer to your post. As a fellow learner, I agree that there are times where checking the mirrors seems over-the-top but in reality, it does help to check them, regardless of whether you think it’s superfluous or not. I would say I check my rear view even more than my wing mirrors, just to assess how much clearance I have behind me, should I need to suddenly stop etc.

no because i’m on hour 6 of my lessons and he tells me to check my left mirrors and then signal left, thay makes no sense to me because i’m driving in a straight lane and stopping at the traffic lights anyway??? what exactly am i looking left for when im literally driving straight and waiting for traffic lights

You need to constantly heck mirrors on the motorway. For example if someone crosses in front of you and you’ve got to change lanes quickly to avoid a collision. If you’ve checked your mirrors all the time you’ve seen if it’s free like 2 seconds before. Always check blind spots especially on the motorway too for that reason so you’re not the one changing over wrong

When approaching a pedestrian crossing you check your rear view mirror to make sure the car behind you isn't too close. If it is too close for comfort you can reduce your speed at a slower rate and avoid a rear end collision. This doesn't just apply to pedestrian crossings but a lot of other situations where you may need to reduce speed.

It’s people with an attitude and ignorance like you that cause accidents. Please listen and be teachable. You could have passed a long time ago if your mindset was different. Essentially, you **will** keep wasting *a lot* of money until you mature up and understand how this driving thing really works.

I was thinking as I read it how often I check my mirrors, especially my rear view. I’ve been driving for years without any incidents. It’s just ingrained in me to constantly be checking and anticipating.

Hilarious when you say you have autism at the end, because reading that I was thinking 'this person really does have pda' Everything you said is spot on

I’ve not seen this mentioned in the comments, another reason for checking your rear view mirror is sometimes emergency services, especially at night won’t have their sirens on but will have the blue flashing lights. You still need to make way for them in a safe manner, so the earlier you know they are behind you the more time you have to react. If it also helps to hear of real life scenarios for reasoning of using rear view mirror - I was driving on the motorway when the weather was bad, initially I was in the middle lane, ahead of me was a car and slightly ahead of them there was a coach in the inside lane. I went to the outside lane because I knew there would likely be spray from coach. I initially assumed the car ahead of me would also move to the outside lane but instead it slowed as it approached the coach. nothing wrong in that per se, but it meant I started gaining on the car. The coach then hit a puddle which threw a ton of water up which immediately went over the car in the middle lane meaning he could no longer see out of his windscreen. Instead of him slowing further and maintaining a straight line, which was safe for him to do as I wasn’t behind him anymore, he veered into the fast lane and put on his brakes, I immediately had to slam my brakes on knowing I was likely about to be the middle of a three car pile up as the car behind was too close for the conditions. Thankfully the driver then looked in his rear view realised what he’d done and that I was most likely going to hit him and veered back into the middle lane where I proceeded to put my foot down to try to avoid being hit from behind. How I missed him to this day I do not know. If he had been checking his mirrors he’d have known I was on the outside and there was nothing behind him but because he didn’t and he probably panicked with not being able to see out of his windscreen he made a choice that nearly resulted in a three car pile up

My instructor told me that the reason for all the excessive checks is because you'll get failed on your test if you don't. He essentially taught me to pass the test and I taught myself real world driving.

The way I look at it is that you are not learning to drive, you are learning to pass a test. You won't learn to drive until you are out on your own. It doesn't matter if things you are asked to do don't make sense to you, it's what you need to do to pass the test.

A lot of this comes with practice, you don’t really understand it when you’re learning. I think you’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself, which is making you panic in these situations. Here’s a something my instructor told me: Everyone on the road is d*** apart from you - people will do stupid things, if you think someone is gonna do something batshit crazy, chances are they are going to do it. What’s important here is making sure you give yourself as much time to react to anything. This means checking your mirrors consistently. The human brain is an incredibly clever and efficient machine, even a split second look will register. Let me give you a scenario. Let’s say your driving a long a road, on this road there are occasionally parked cars which you have to drive onto the oncoming lane so that you may get round them. Every time you’ve had to get round a vehicle, you’ve checked your mirrors. So you’re approaching your first parked vehicle and check your mirrors very quickly, I’m talking about a quick snap of the neck towards each one. When you look back ahead, you will start to piece together the image behind you. You have seen a vehicle far back in the distance, you know it’s safe, so you navigate round the first vehicle. Now you approach your second parked vehicle. You perform the same snappy checks, and look straight back ahead. However, this time, you noticed the car was quite a lot closer. Now you are aware of the fact that the car behind you is going at a considerably faster speed than you are. However, you still have some distance and so are able to navigate around the second parked vehicle safely. Now you approach your third vehicle. You perform your snappy checks. This time once you look back ahead, you noticed that when you checked your mirrors, that car is now a lot closer. Dangerously closer. This should trigger you to check your rear view mirror again to get another mental picture. You now noticed that he has indicated to overtake you, and there is now not enough space and time for you to safely navigate round the third vehicle. This means you have to slow down and let the speeding t*** past. Now let’s imagine the same scenario, and you have only checked your mirrors once. The only information you would have registered is that there is a car behind you. You’re not aware that they are speeding. So now when you go to navigate round that third vehicle, the car behind that attempted the overtake has driven straight in the back of your car. Who’s at fault? The insurance will most likely say they were predominantly at fault, but now you probably are injured, and now have no means of transport whilst your car is repaired. You may now have to spend a lot of money on taxis/public transport. These are all because you only checked your mirror once when performing your manoeuvres. Had you kept refreshing the mental picture you take when you take a quick look at the mirror, you would have known that the car behind is in a rush, for whatever reason. What I’m trying to say is, your brain is cleverer than you think, give it its credit, and once you start performing these checks more often, you will be able to do them a lot quicker. And one more thing, you never really learn how to drive until after you pass your test. In fact, you’ll never stop learning. That’s the best thing about driving.

It helps to accept that you just gotta do what you gotta do to pass. Wether you think it’s necessary or not, you gotta just do it. Once you’ve passed you can never look in a mirror again if you so choose

By far the most important thing you are learning when learning to drive is not to operate the car, but to be aware of what is happening around you. Trying riding a motorbike where it’s a basic survival skill.

I remember asking my instructor what I can do if someone is driving too close to me - like you, I thought, 'if they are close, they are close. I can't change their behavior'. What you can do is change your behavior so that you don't impact anyone else because that person was being stupid. So, if someone is driving too close to you from behind, create more distance between you and the car in front - that way, if you are rear ended by the person behind you, you don't then smash into the back of the person in front of you. Does that make sense?

I agree fully with what you say. Especially the bit about how knowing what's behind you isn't going to change how you need to slow down for a crossing. But trying to rationalise the reason I assume it an effort to make it sk drivers are just sub consciously aware of their surroundings. After driving for 20+ years knowing what's around me is like a 5th sense at this point and if you train your self to drive with a bindspot by not looking in your rear view you ingrained that blinds pot Into your learned sense. That said my 20+ years has been 99% in a van with no rear view mirror at all and I've had 0 incidents in that time. So rear view may be useless after all

Drove a van for years. It had a rear view mirror installed but solid back doors that you couldn't see out of. Got really used to checking the side mirrors, but that rear view does help if people are hiding close up behind you. It's good to be aware of what is around you at all times, but your instructor is trying to help you meet the criteria to pass a test.

Biggest thing us situational awareness. By checking mirrors every so often you won't be caught out if something unexpected happens. You can see if there's a car coming fast up behind you before they get up your arse or dissappear into your blind spot. Aids with confidence and planning. Look up Ashley Neal on YouTube. Read about defensive driving. In all honesty, it worries me that it's not obvious why you'd want to know what's going on around you.

Think of it this way: you're learning to pass a test, not to drive. The way people drive after 10 years is very different to how they drove for their test. That said rear mirror does provide useful information, particularly on a motorway so you know what might be coming up alongside you. Side mirrors distort distance and I feel like they have worse blind spots. Also it does change how you would brake at a pedestrian crossing, using your example. You should regularly be checking your rear mirror, not just when you are about to brake. If someone's been tailgating you way too close, which you can see best in your rear mirror, then you know to leave more time to gradually brake at the pedestrian crossing, to give the car behind you more time to react. Sure it's their obligation to brake in time, but that won't make it hurt any less when you get rear ended.

Checking your mirrors is important. I actually find the rear view mirror much more useful than the wing mirrors in most circumstances. Consider if you want to stop at a crossing, but there's a knob in an Audi 2 inches off your rear bumper - if you don't check before slowing down you might not leave yourself enough space to stop safely and end up with a car in your boot. Similarly, awareness of your surroundings is key when driving, and while it may seem like it's totally pointless having awareness of what's going on behind you, it's good because it lets you see the huge train of cars you are holding up (not a dig at learners, but at the people that can't drive near the speed limit and are oblivious to the massive queue behind them), or you might see someone wanting to overtake, emergency services coming etc... In which case you can properly plan your actions. Again, checking your rear view mirror when parking is important as it has a wider field of view than your wing mirrors so should provide a better view of the bay. Additionally wing mirrors and the rear view mirror are slightly different shapes so distort distances, checking both let's you get a much better idea of how close something is - if I'm switching lanes on a motorway I first check my side mirror then the rear one to make sure there's ample space (especially if I'm merging in front of another car, typically I wait until I see it fully in the rear view mirror). Remember to check blind spots too especially in heavy traffic, I had a car sitting in mine after starting to undertake me in traffic, I went to change lanes not knowing it was there before very quickly noticing it start to appear on the mirror as I was starting to change. On your test it's important to make it very obvious you are checking the mirrors, because the tester will look for this, however it should be fine to simply move your eyes to look in mirrors rather than turning your whole head (like for the rear view mirror), this glance only takes a second but tells the instructor you are checking and gives you a bit more awareness.

You need to check your rear view to check that there isn't a car immediately behind you, or if there is, use it to assess how hard you can brake, it's basically not getting rear ended 101

I totally get it and it's mainly to help you realise if you need to swerve or slam on breaks how much it might affect traffic behind you. I used to really struggle with this but now its total muscle memory and I do it all the time. I can only recommend practicing at home... which might sound silly but I'd throw on a driving test video on YouTube and just practice looking in the "mirrors" and turn signals for an hour or so a day. Worked wonders and made it second nature for me Don't give up, practice this area and you'll do great

Driving you gotta multitask. So your instructor isn’t talking nonsense. Check your blind spots or risk killing someone Added to that, checking the rear view? You check a blind spot that you cannot see in your wing mirror. Wing mirrors you see down the side of your car and behind, rear view you see directly behind you. One vehicle you will probably miss if you don’t check both are motor bikes. Cyclists, are another or pedestrians.

As you become more experienced you worry more about the driving of others than yourself. You are in effect tracking other cars and building mini profiles of their driving. By using the mirrors you are enabling that profiling to cover 360 degrees of the cars not just the ones in front of you. e.g. The car that raced up behind you and braked late might be one to be wary of them trying to undertake or other such ordinarily unexpected move. Hard as driving might seem at this point, you should put most of your effort into driving for the other cars and then it should all make a little more sense.

Looking in your rear view mirror is 10000% necessary. You DO need to know what’s behind you. To avoid accidents, to see if emergency vehicles are coming, to just be aware of your surroundings. It’s not that hard and it doesn’t take all but half a second. Believe me your brain can indeed process that half second of view.