How often should you check your mirrors while driving?

The frequency of checking your mirrors while driving is centered around maintaining awareness of your surroundings and ensuring safety. Regularly checking your mirrors, approximately every 5 to 10 seconds, is essential for several reasons.

This practice helps you keep track of nearby vehicles, potential hazards, and changing traffic conditions, allowing you to make informed decisions. By doing so, you are better prepared to respond to other drivers' actions, pedestrians, or obstacles that might suddenly appear in your path. Continuous awareness enhances your situational awareness and contributes to safer driving.

In contrast to the other options, looking at your mirrors every 10 to 15 seconds may not be frequent enough in fast-moving traffic environments, where situations can change rapidly. Checking once a minute would significantly limit your awareness, leading to potential blind spots regarding other vehicles. Relying solely on mirror checks when changing lanes can leave you unaware of other situations on the road that could require immediate attention. Regular mirror checks are a proactive strategy for safe driving rather than a reactive one.