Nearly every driver has had the moment: you go to change lanes, a car horn sounds, and a vehicle you never saw is right beside you. It was sitting in your blind spot. The good news is that blind spots are predictable, and a quick head check clears them every time. Head checks are also marked on the Queensland practical driving test, so it is a habit worth building from your very first lessons.
What is a blind spot?
A blind spot is any area around your vehicle that you cannot see in your rear-view or side mirrors. The most common one sits just behind each of your shoulders, where a car can hide completely from your mirrors. Mirrors cover a lot, but they never cover everything, which is why a physical head check matters.
Your mirrors are set up to show the road behind you and the lanes on either side, but there is always a gap between what the side mirror shows and what you can see out of your side window. A car travelling at a similar speed can sit in that gap for several seconds. The same idea applies at the front and rear: the bonnet hides low objects close to the front of the car, and the area directly behind the boot is out of view when you reverse.
Where your blind spots are
Once you know where blind spots form, checking them becomes second nature. Here are the ones to keep in mind.
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Over each shoulder
Beside and slightly behind the car, hidden by the rear pillars. This is the classic blind spot your mirrors miss.
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Alongside you
A vehicle overtaking sits in the gap between your side mirror and your side window as it draws level.
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In front of the bonnet
Low objects close to the front, such as a small child or a bollard, drop below your line of sight.
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Directly behind
When reversing, the area low behind the boot is out of view in your mirrors and often your camera too.
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Behind the windscreen pillars
The posts either side of your windscreen can hide a pedestrian or cyclist at intersections and roundabouts.
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Around large vehicles
Trucks and buses have far bigger blind spots than a car. If you cannot see the driver in their mirror, they cannot see you.
Setting your mirrors to shrink the gap
Adjust your side mirrors outward until you can only just see the edge of your own car. That widens the view and cuts the blind spot down, though it never removes it. A head check is still needed before every sideways move.
A lot of drivers point their side mirrors too far in, so both mirrors mostly show the side of their own car. That doubles up with the rear-view mirror and leaves a large blind spot on each side. Setting them a little wider means each mirror covers the lane next to you instead.
Common Mirrors turned in
You can see the side of your own car in both side mirrors. It feels reassuring, but it overlaps with the rear-view mirror and leaves a wide blind spot on each side.
Better Mirrors set wider
You see only a sliver of your own car, and the mirror shows the lane beside you. A car overtaking now stays visible for longer as it passes.
When do you need to do a head check?
Any time you move the car sideways or reverse. Mirrors first, then a head check of about ninety degrees over the shoulder on the side you are moving to. Pick a scenario below to see exactly what to look for.
Changing lanes Most common
The move where blind spots catch drivers out most often.
MirrorsCheck your rear-view and the side mirror for the lane you want to move into.
Head checkLook over the shoulder on the side you are moving to, then indicate and move.
Watch forA car sitting level with you in the blind spot, or a faster vehicle closing from behind. If in doubt, hold your lane and check again.
Merging into traffic
Joining a motorway or a lane that is ending.
Match the speedBuild up to a similar speed to the traffic you are joining before you move across.
Head checkMirror first, then look over your right shoulder into the lane you are merging into.
Watch forA vehicle already in that lane that your mirror does not show. Merge smoothly rather than stopping on the ramp.
Pulling out from a kerb
Moving off from a parked position into the traffic lane.
Signal firstIndicate, then check your mirrors and look over your right shoulder into the traffic lane.
Head checkA full look behind, not just a glance, before you move away from the kerb.
Watch forCyclists and cars passing close to the kerb, and pedestrians stepping off the footpath.
Turning at an intersection
Left or right turns, and turns at roundabouts.
Head checkLook to the side you are turning toward for cyclists and motorbikes before you commit to the turn.
Left turnsCheck your left mirror and over your left shoulder for a cyclist filtering up beside you.
Watch forCyclists and motorbikes are small and easy to lose behind a windscreen pillar or in a mirror.
Reversing
Reverse parking, driveways and three-point turns.
Before you moveDo a full look around the car, all the way round, so you know what is there before you start.
While reversingKeep looking back through the rear window, not only at the mirrors or the camera screen.
Watch forSmall children and low objects directly behind the car, which mirrors and cameras can miss entirely.
Does blind-spot monitoring replace a head check?
No. Blind-spot monitoring is a helpful backup, not a substitute. It warns you about some vehicles, but it can miss cyclists and motorbikes, and a dirty or faulty sensor gives you nothing. The head check is still the part you can always rely on.
Newer cars often have a light in the door mirror that flashes when something is beside you, and a reversing camera on the dashboard. Both are genuinely useful, and there is no reason to ignore them. They work best as a second layer, catching the thing you might have missed, rather than as the only thing you look at.
This is also how it is treated on the Queensland practical driving test. Transport and Main Roads is clear that even if your test car has blind-spot mirrors, you must still look over your shoulder to check both blind spots, and even with a reversing camera you must use all-round physical observation to reverse safely. Building the head check into every move now means it is already automatic when it counts. It is one of several habits, alongside knowing the give way rules, that keep new drivers safe once they are out on their own.
Common questions from Queensland learners
The Queensland test observation requirements referenced here were checked against Transport and Main Roads guidance (qld.gov.au) in July 2026. Road rules and test criteria can change, so confirm the current requirements with Transport and Main Roads before your test. This article is general driving guidance, not legal advice.
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