Solo vanners... driving on the wrong side of the road...

[delicagirl]

From a truckies point of view, it is all about getting your mirrors set up properly.
When I was trucking, I would have the normal mirror set so that I could just see my own truck and most of the view was further out. The wide angle was set to view from where the normal mirror view stopped.
This would enable me to reverse an artic blind side around a 90 degree road junction.
I might have needed to move my head and lean a little in some extreme circumstances.
For me, I had and still do in my M/H have a full view when joining a M Way or similar and it is more difficult when joining at about 45 degree or more!

its almost impossible when driving on the right.... and that's why i started this post.... at very obtuse angled junctions in France i will feel almost completely blind as i enter the inside lane if i am alone.

 

[delicagirl]

It must be your vehicle then as I have driven many hundreds of thousands of miles with a RHD truck and RHD M/H's abroad and not experienced you problem. OK it is a little more difficult, but that is all!
It is all about mirrors!
Just a thought,
at the right moment, maybe angle your vehicle so you can see the road through the mirror.
I learned to angle the truck at junctions, so that I could see. The same goes when driving a LHD here in UK

my wing mirrors are a nightmare. Once i have sat in the cab then someone else has to adjust them and then fix the angle with screws externally so mirrors cannot be re-sited from inside the cab as are modern ones.. the van is 25 years old. everything about my van is a nightmare !!!!

 

[Minisorella]

[/U][/B] its almost impossible when driving on the right.... and that's why i started this post.... at very obtuse angled junctions in France i will feel almost completely blind as i enter the inside lane if i am alone.

I travel alone most of the time and meet this issue at angled junctions and curving service area exit routes a lot, both here and abroad. I don't have a reversing camera or any extra mirrors but find it's all about getting the van at the right angle and keeping the nearside mirror slightly on the wide side. After 4 years of solo driving, I'm not finding it particularly tricky any more. Although I had a co-driver for the trip to Europe, I still found that if you quickly get completely parallel on the slip road of motorways, you can easily see what's coming up in the first lane, in exactly the same way as moving back into the inside lane after overtaking here. I don't think you'd have a problem once you've got the mirror right... motorway junctions are actually easier than junctions on quiet roads both here and in Europe because you've got the space to get into the right position, plus no hills and blind bends! On small roads, I have been known to back up and reposition or get out of the van to recce a completely blind junction in the middle of nowhere and then nose out with my hand on the horn!
:drive:

 

[cliveandann]

It must be your vehicle then as I have driven many hundreds of thousands of miles with a RHD truck and RHD M/H's abroad and not experienced you problem. OK it is a little more difficult, but that is all!
It is all about mirrors!
Just a thought,
at the right moment, maybe angle your vehicle so you can see the road through the mirror.
I learned to angle the truck at junctions, so that I could see. The same goes when driving a LHD here in UK

I agree with *****. Turn the van at a junction or roundabout so that you can see the oncoming traffic even if you are at quite a sharp angle on the road you are on. Make sure that no one is coming up on the left side before you make such a maneuver. The best view is the one you get through the window.

The blind spot mirrors will give you more vision but won't provide a full view as you need to see at an angle closer to 90 degrees to the van. The alternative would be to have a wide angle (110 degrees) camera set at about 120 - 130 degrees from the direction of travel (this would also allow you to see down the side of the van). However you may well find a blind spot mirror plus turning the vehicle will give you good vision.

 

[delicagirl]

I agree with *****. Turn the van at a junction or roundabout so that you can see the oncoming traffic even if you are at quite a sharp angle on the road you are on. Make sure that no one is coming up on the left side before you make such a maneuver. The best view is the one you get through the window.

The blind spot mirrors will give you more vision but won't provide a full view as you need to see at an angle closer to 90 degrees to the van. The alternative would be to have a wide angle (110 degrees) camera set at about 120 - 130 degrees from the direction of travel (this would also allow you to see down the side of the van). However you may well find a blind spot mirror plus turning the vehicle will give you good vision.

i a NOT talking about ordinary junctions i can do that easy peasy in england or france... i am talking about feeding into a fast flowing motorway in france

i can hardly stop there

 

[cliveandann]

i a NOT talking about ordinary junctions i can do that easy peasy in england or france... i am talking about feeding into a fast flowing motorway in france

i can hardly stop there

OK the basic principles of merging on a motorway are the same whether driving on the left or the right for which a decent blind spot mirror will be a great help.

 

[maingate]

I agree with *****. Turn the van at a junction or roundabout so that you can see the oncoming traffic even if you are at quite a sharp angle on the road you are on. Make sure that no one is coming up on the left side before you make such a maneuver. The best view is the one you get through the window.

The blind spot mirrors will give you more vision but won't provide a full view as you need to see at an angle closer to 90 degrees to the van. The alternative would be to have a wide angle (110 degrees) camera set at about 120 - 130 degrees from the direction of travel (this would also allow you to see down the side of the van). However you may well find a blind spot mirror plus turning the vehicle will give you good vision.

What you are saying is easy to do at awkward junctions with your vehicle. I used to do the same when I had a smaller coachbuilt van about the same size as yours (under 6 metres long). It can also be done with an articulated vehicle. My last 2 vans have been over 8 metres long and I would be well over the road if I attempted the same manouvre. It would be fine as long as no traffic was turning in to the same junction, as I would be partially blocking their side of the road.

 

[delicagirl]

i dont quite know how to explain it any differently.

on UK roads i am absolutely fine. i have been driving for more years than i will disclose and have driven small trucks for living and my camper van is not large. in the van i have a rear view cab mirror which sees lorries behind me; i have 2 rear view camera screens on my dashboad (one camera is mounted at tarmac level and the other one on the roof) and a marvellous pavement mirror so i can see exactly underneath the front of my van for when i need to exactly fit into a parking bay for example i can see the white lines. With all these mirrors i can see behind me, in front of me, alongside me....

the question is

when i am feeding onto a french or foreign motorway at an obtuse angle.... i can see vehicles following me, or overtaking me on the slip road, but i cannot see traffic in the slow lane of the motorway (which i am feeding into) BECAUSE OF THE ANGLE

 

[wildebus]

Side windows are the key at Junctions aren't they. You'll often get a van with one side window which makes life easier when in the UK, but of course is not much use when on the wrong side of the road
I like the idea of a forward-facing camera on the LHS Mirror - that would help a lot when checking if safe to pull out and I think could be well worth looking into?

I think I prefer the Continental motorways over the standard roads myself for driving in terms of overall visibilty (I guess you will never have vehicles heading right for you on a motorway!), but having said that I have only driven cars abroad and not any vans with more limited visibilty, so maybe that makes a difference?

 

[edina]

I think you mean acute angle, but the answer is to fit another mirror that shows the traffic on the lane you are joining. At roundabouts 'square off' so you can see oncoming traffic.

 

[Jeff G]

How about one of these? Get a drivers side mirror which you would then mount upside down and cut the long arm so it is just long enough to go thru the fixing brackets so shouldn't stick out much further than the original mirror

Caravan Towing Mirrors – Make Sure You Know The Law

 

[colinm]

Deli, you must have some seriously bad mirrors as every vehicle I have driven when the mirrors are correctly adjusted would give a good view of the next lane to the one I was in.
I understand setting them up, I used to spend what seemed like hours jumping in and out of a vehicle to get them how I liked, and hated it when somebody else drove the vehicle and moved or knocked them.
Maybe visit a truck auto factors and see what is available as an after market fit.
For me, good mirrors are paramount, remember when O fitted a Kerb mirror on my last A Class, so I could see right down by my nearside front wheel!
I think you do need to spend the time sorting this out and good luck!

It all comes down to the curve in road leading to motorway and entry angle at the junction, and this can vary wildly, last month we seemed to go throu a lot of motorway junctions with tight curves and high entry angles, it is surprising to me that the germans in particular can be so bad at designing some junctions, going around a curve with a 30kph speed limit and straight into a high angle junction is just plain stupid. My mirrors are set to be ok on the average motorway junction but I soon learnt to look ahead and hit the motor button to adjust mirrors, and that's on a x250, Colettes mirrors are much smaller from what I've seen on Delicia's.

 

[delicagirl]

It all comes down to the curve in road leading to motorway and entry angle at the junction, and this can vary wildly, last month we seemed to go throu a lot of motorway junctions with tight curves and high entry angles, it is surprising to me that the germans in particular can be so bad at designing some junctions, going around a curve with a 30kph speed limit and straight into a high angle junction is just plain stupid. My mirrors are set to be ok on the average motorway junction but I soon learnt to look ahead and hit the motor button to adjust mirrors, and that's on a x250, Colettes mirrors are much smaller from what I've seen on Delicia's.

colin at least you absolutely understand what i have been trying to explain - - yes it is the angle of the junction that causes me to feel so fearful. The glass in my wing mirrors is not a bad size and once adjusted and screwed down give me goodish blind spot vision. But the wing mirror itself is mounted on a long thick cast iron rod so its very unforgiving and its not easy to come up with innovative solutions.

 

[edina]

If you ever go to Exeter, these guys stock lots of truck mirrors 404 Not Found (think there is a system problem, the link IS live)

 

[yeoblade]

*****, those Wide Angle Mirror Blind Spot Camion Truck Lorry Caravan Van Bus Recovery Side Uk on ebay look great and may fit Deli's van mirrors frame, sadly can't see a way of fitting on to a long arm Fiat mirror.

Have you got a pic of the mirrors on yours Deli?

 

[Canalsman]

my wing mirrors are a nightmare. Once i have sat in the cab then someone else has to adjust them and then fix the angle with screws externally so mirrors cannot be re-sited from inside the cab as are modern ones.. the van is 25 years old. everything about my van is a nightmare !!!!

Judicious positioning of one of these ...

Summit Blind Spot - Car Mirrors

... may do the trick.

You can stick one onto the existing mirror.

 

[wildebus]

Talking Mirrors, I like those mirrors which have a seperate section at the bottom (Like Transit mirrors are I think?). Anyone know if it is possible to get Mirrors on a first gen Sprinter/LT like those?

 

[delicagirl]

This is an example of fitting a new mirror arm and mirror.
Maybe this sort of thing could be fitted but facing backwards.
I am sure that somehow it can be sorted, you just need to research different mirrors and arms

I forgot to say, this was a LHD van

that little one stuck on the side of the hab body looks a possibility *****... will go and look at the van on sunday and give it some thought...

 

[delicagirl]

If you ever go to Exeter, these guys stock lots of truck mirrors 404 Not Found (think there is a system problem, the link IS live)

i am not that far from exeter... whats the name of the company please ? thanks

 

[delicagirl]

*****, those Wide Angle Mirror Blind Spot Camion Truck Lorry Caravan Van Bus Recovery Side Uk on ebay look great and may fit Deli's van mirrors frame, sadly can't see a way of fitting on to a long arm Fiat mirror.

Have you got a pic of the mirrors on yours Deli?

that looks a posibility as well.. on sunday in the daylight i will go look aand see if one could be clamped onto my current cast iron rod which supports my current wing mirror.... might even pop into halfrauds for advice and a look see at their products of a similar nature


thanks