The Mirrors

The mirrors are how you scan behind without taking your eyes off the road for long. The handbook gives a clear routine:

• Interior mirror first, then the door mirror on the side you are going.
• Check before every change of speed or direction. That means before moving off, before turning, overtaking or changing lanes, and before slowing or stopping. This is the Mirror in MSM (Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre).
• Signal straight after the mirror check. If there is a delay, check the mirrors again, because what you saw a few seconds ago may have changed.

Between those moments, a working rhythm is a mirror glance every 5–8 seconds in moving traffic (⚠ field-constructed), so that you always know what is behind you before you need to.

The two mirrors are different, and the difference matters.

• The interior mirror is flat. It shows things at their true size, so you can judge the speed and distance of following traffic.
• The door mirrors are convex. They show a wider view, but vehicles look smaller and further away than they really are. A bodaboda that looks comfortably distant in the door mirror may be much closer.

What you are looking for, in the handbook's list:

• a vehicle following too closely;
• one approaching fast;
• motorcyclists and cyclists pushing forward past slowing traffic to reach the front of a queue.

The first two change how you brake. With a close follower, slow earlier and more gently, so they have more time to react. With a fast approacher, you may slow slightly later than usual, if that is safe, so they have more distance to stop. The third changes whether you can turn at all, which is what The Blind Spot is about.