I was 16, and eye-rollingly apathetic to a cliche. My dad had signed me and my older sister up for a defensive driving course. While I was working part-time at our family’s shop and learning (a bit begrudgingly) about cars, I didn’t want to spend a whole Saturday in a classroom. I was sentenced to a cold, windowless box, I assumed, because that’s how my torturously long Driver’s Ed went.

When we arrived, though, I realized the day would be hosted by professional (read: racecar) drivers. Fast forward 22 years, and I still use what I learned that day every time I drive.

The experience resulted in several takeaways, so I could go on for pages, here. One of them was that it was cool to like cars. And that I really did know a thing or two about them: we stood in front of a test car and were asked to name all the fluids in its major systems. I was the only one in the big batch of teens to list them all. But in terms of immediately applicable driving tips, here’s one to do with your car’s side-view mirrors. And it was the instructor’s very first lesson.

You don’t actually need to see your own car in the side mirrors while driving

That’s it. That’s the tip.

Wait. Huh?

First, what does that even mean, and second, why is that so important?

It was true that I felt “safer” if I could see some part of the car’s side body in my mirrors. In my mind, if I could pin the edge of it, I’d better measure where everything else was in relation to the vehicle at a quick glance.

When the driving instructor had me adjust them so that I was looking at the larger surrounding space on either side, with none of the car in sight, it indeed felt…risky.

“Everyone does it the other way. But believe me, the car’s still there,” the driving instructor joked from the passenger seat.

Here’s the theory: Taking up precious mirror space with the object that’s with you wherever you go is a waste. In fact, he argued, it’s less safe for you and neighboring motorists to position mirrors so they’re pointing at your own vehicle.

Because the better you can see your car in your mirrors, the less you can see everything else

After the quick tip (and a few more), we took off on several rounds of barrelling around cones and drifting (!) through a makeshift finish line…e-brake and everything. What a thrill! Far cry from a boring slideshow.

I spent the next 15-some-odd years getting into customer cars at the shop. Every. Single. One. Had their mirrors set to peek at the doors. After that class, whenever I spotted it, I wondered how they could see!

Until you’re used to it, you just have to remind yourself (however silly it sounds) that the mirrors are right next to the car. Neither is going anywhere without the other. Better to focus on the areas outside the vehicle.

Free yourself: go ahead and point the side mirrors away from the car before you start driving. You see better, which means you’ll drive better.