…When I was hit from behind, it was on a wide, low-volume, well-lit residential road at about 9 PM in June, by a “distracted driver.”
The route was so calm that I was not closely monitoring my rearward view. In fact, though perhaps I could have ditched the bike, I’m glad I didn’t see it coming if I was going to get hit anyways.
I once read a comment that one should practice doing "bunny hops" so at least you could jump a curb if present on your right.
Obviously that’s the ultimate use of a mirror, and now I monitor rearwards more frequently. So hopefully
being aware of the situation behind, even when not in immediate danger, allows the rider to avoid a dangerous situation, even by pulling off the road. And other than my accident, I’ve never had the need to bail out.
IMO, besides routine monitoring rearwards with the mirror, a most important use is to make quick decisions when encountering an obstacle in front of you, such as a car door, pothole, car entering your path, etc. Can you immediately veer left?
Mirror threads are often popcorn threads, and I’m always dismayed when subscribers blithely write, often directed towards newbies, that you don’t need a mirror and it doesn’t help anyways. Why discourage such a simple piece of equipment? I’ve tried to think of the
dangers of a mirror, and the best I’ve come up with is poking your eye with an eyeglass or helmet mounted mirror; or being too distracted by it, for example if you can’t really get used to it.
Personally, I use an eyeglass mounted Take-a-Look mirror that allows me to maintain a forward-looking head position with just a sideward glance to see the rear.
I really don’t want to turn my head for an over shoulder glance away from the line of travel when speeding downhill on a pothole-strewn road with heavy traffic to my left and parked cars to my right. Furthermore, wind noise can sometimes obscure the sound of a passing car.
I find mirrors so easy to use, and so helpful that I wear
both right and left (link).