Okay, so the important thing to understand that with this method your mirrors don't overlap. Before, you could ignore your rear view mirror and just look in the side mirror to get the same coverage but slightly extended on that side. With correctly set mirrors you absolutely have to use both rear view mirror and the side mirror if you want to change the lane or are looking for a cyclist when turning.
I made some tests when I first started. I parked my car parallel to the street and observed when cars move from behind they move out of the rear view mirror and start appearing in side mirror before wholly disappear from rear view mirror.
With bicycles it is more difficult, not all parts of bicycle are easy to spot. If you just get a rear part or front wheel in the mirror you might miss it (it may be below your vision if you have SUV or have mirrors set bit high). For this reason I have my side mirrors set low, which also aides backing up when parking.
It is also important to look at your mirrors correctly. If you look for things moving faster than you, which is most of the time (for example when you are changing lanes or looking for cyclists when turning right) then you need to first look into the rear view mirror and then to side mirror, in that order.
I taught myself to scan all mirrors constantly when driving to have a map of all cars and their relative positions and velocities around me. It is tiring at the beginning but it means I am rarely surprised by normally moving cars (ie. not doing any stupid manouvers). It is very helpful when you need to suddenly swerve and you can frequently anticipate problems other drivers have and accommodate.
I made some tests when I first started. I parked my car parallel to the street and observed when cars move from behind they move out of the rear view mirror and start appearing in side mirror before wholly disappear from rear view mirror.
With bicycles it is more difficult, not all parts of bicycle are easy to spot. If you just get a rear part or front wheel in the mirror you might miss it (it may be below your vision if you have SUV or have mirrors set bit high). For this reason I have my side mirrors set low, which also aides backing up when parking.
It is also important to look at your mirrors correctly. If you look for things moving faster than you, which is most of the time (for example when you are changing lanes or looking for cyclists when turning right) then you need to first look into the rear view mirror and then to side mirror, in that order.
I taught myself to scan all mirrors constantly when driving to have a map of all cars and their relative positions and velocities around me. It is tiring at the beginning but it means I am rarely surprised by normally moving cars (ie. not doing any stupid manouvers). It is very helpful when you need to suddenly swerve and you can frequently anticipate problems other drivers have and accommodate.