To eliminate blind spots when driving, set your mirrors this way:
Sitting in the driver’s seat with your window closed, lean as far to your left as you can (with your head right up against the glass), then set your driver’s side mirror so that you can just barely see the side of your car in the reflection. Next, lean to your right until your head is directly in the center of the car (in line with the rear view mirror). Set the passenger mirror so that you can barely see the right side of the car in the reflection.
What you will find when your mirrors are positioned this way is that you will have absolutely no blind spots as you drive. To verify this, look in your rear view mirror at a car as it approaches you in an adjacent lane on your left. Just as the car begins to leave your rear view mirror, you will see it entering your side view mirror. For a short period of time, you will actually see the car in both mirrors at once. As the car comes closer and begins to leave your side mirror, you will already be able to see it in your peripheral vision on your left. The same holds true for traffic on your right and the passenger-side mirror.
When you first try this, it may seem unsettling if you’ve been trained to set your mirrors the standard way like everyone else. It’s particularly disconcerting when rounding curves, but comfort will come with time, along with the confidence that you have a better sense of the traffic that surrounds you. You’ll no longer have to turn your head (and divert your attention from the traffic in front of you) to see if anyone is driving alongside you.
It nearly goes without saying (although someone will probably get into a wreck because I didn't) that British drivers and others who drive on the left side of the road will adjust their right and left mirrors accordingly.