Our eyes have a blind spot at around 20 degrees in each.

This is because we have no photo receptor cells on the optic nerve at the back of the eye covering this area (which sends visual images to the brain).

This downfall is compensated by two things (which is why we don’t notice blind spots):

1. The other eyes peripheral vision sees the missing detail.
2. The brain makes up, or fills in what it believes to be there!

This blind spot can automatically create problems when driving. If you are not looking and actually moving your head when at junctions for example, you stand the risk of not seeing a narrow object such as a cyclist, because they could be in your blind spot, or even something larger at times.

I was at the junction, and the bike just came out of nowhere!

How many times have you heard the phase?

How to stay safe:

Simply understand blind spots
Ensure you take more than just a glance at junctions
Actually move your head when you look
Take an extra second
Make sure you are seeing and not just looking