To check your blind spot when changing lanes to the left, you should glance:
- Over your right shoulder.
- At your side mirror.
- Over your left shoulder. ✓
- At your rearview mirror.
Answer: C. Over your left shoulder.
When changing lanes to the left, glance over your left shoulder to check the blind spot.
Why this is the answer
The Texas handbook says that before you pass, you should check the rearview mirror, your side mirrors, and look over your shoulder into the blind spot. Passing is done on the left, so the shoulder glance for that lane change is over your left shoulder. The handbook also says to check mirrors and blind spots before entering or leaving a lane, because a vehicle can be missed in a quick look. That makes the left-shoulder glance the correct check.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Over your right shoulder. — Glancing over your right shoulder checks the area to your right, not the left lane you intend to enter.
- B. At your side mirror. — A side mirror helps, but the handbook calls for a shoulder look into the blind spot as well, so the mirror alone is not the blind-spot check.
- D. At your rearview mirror. — The rearview mirror shows what is behind you, not the blind spot beside your left rear quarter, so it does not replace the shoulder glance.
Remember it
Mirror, mirror, then shoulder: the blind spot check is a turn of your head, not just an eye to the glass.