When do you check your centre mirror?

It seems odd to me that in these days of 'coaching' and 'taking responsibility' instructors are still telling their pupils to check their centre/interior mirror...every 5-6 seconds. I've been on coaching days when highly respected experienced instructors have advocated and used this method. It annoys me when I have a 'new' pupil who has had previous instruction and you ask "when would you look in the centre mirror?" and they say "every 1-2-3-4-5-6 seconds" sometimes "every 2-3 minutes".

I was always taught that the best way to get someone to do what you ask is to get them to understand 'why?' give them a reason for doing it, isn't this what we tell our kids? "don't do things without a reason". What reasons do we give for checking every 5-6 seconds?

When a pupil moves out to overtake a stationery bus (for example) instead of saying check your right door mirror, wouldn't we usually ask "is it safe?" thus prompting them to check that right door mirror.

So, when to check the centre mirror? Think back to the hpt, doesn't that mouse click mean a centre mirror check? Do we not check the centre mirror before we slow down?

I have always believed in giving my pupils a reason for checking the centre mirror, so it's simple.

1. Every time you have to lift your foot off the gas pedal, check behind, you slowing down has an effect on anyone behind you.
2. Every time you THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE TO lift your foot off the gas pedal look in that centre mirror.
3. Every time you push down on the gas pedal look behind you.

Think how many times during a drive you have to lift your foot off the gas pedal,
Fixed hazards such as roundabuts, traffic lights, roadworks, cross roads, junctions, bends in the road, non fixed, brake lights, slow moving traffic, the list is almost endless - all reasons to check behind you giving you the comfort that if you do need to slow down more you can do so safely.

Also how many things do you see that MIGHT cause you to slow down, pedestrians straying close to the kerb, animals, cyclists again the list is endless.

Mentioning this to an experienced and respected instructor it was 'batted back' with that won't work on a straight road! Seriously! how many straight roads do we drive on that doesn't have something that would prompt a centre mirror check! This is the UK even our Roman built 'straight roads' have bends in them and traffic on them!

I'm sure that every one agrees that if you have a reason for doing something you are more likely to do it, give your pupils a reason for checking the centre mirror, rather than trying to remember whether they should count in seconds or minutes before checking again. What if a pedestrian walks out in front of them between counts?
I've had several pupils comment recently that using this method was just so logical, why hadn't their previous instructor mentioned it?
I used to have a sales guy working for (some years ago now) the way he used to decide when to put on his car headlights was when he'd counted, I think it was something random like 28, other cars with their light on, mad? But probably no different to counting seconds between centre mirror checks.