Automotive Blindspots Hold Getting Larger & Larger

Final Up to date on: twenty seventh June 2025, 08:28 pm

It’s no shock — once you have a look at how automobiles hold getting larger and greater, it may’t come as a shock that blindspots have been getting larger. And, sure, that’s precisely what a brand new examine from the Insurance coverage Institute For Freeway Security (IIHS) tells us.

“The drivers of America’s hottest vehicles can see much less and fewer of the highway yearly — and regulators aren’t stepping in,” Streetsblog summarizes. “A brand new examine has discovered that the blind spots on a few of America’s best-selling vehicles are rising at a disturbingly quick price — however pedestrian and bicyclist visibility itself stays a blind spot for federal regulators who constantly fail to mandate that automobiles be designed to scale back the hovering demise charges amongst susceptible highway customers.”

It’s not even about completely different fashions with completely different designs coming to market. It’s common fashions regularly getting worse visibility over time. Right here’s an egregious instance: the Honda CR-V. Within the CR-V of 1997, drivers might see 68% of the highway space 10 meters in entrance of them. Perhaps not wonderful, however not unhealthy. Within the CR-V of 2022, drivers might see solely 28% of the highway space 10 meters in entrance of them!

Hood heights have gotten increased, “A” pillars have gotten thicker, aspect mirrors have gotten bigger, and all of this has led to worse visibility. How a couple of visualization? Right here’s how the blindspots of the Chevrolet Suburban have grown from 2006 to 2023:

Ahead visibility has been declining, and, by the way, pedestrian and bicyclist deaths have been rising in the identical time interval. Pedestrian deaths have risen by 37% in 25 years and bicyclist deaths have risen by 42%.

“The across-the-board lower in visibility for this small group of fashions is regarding,” mentioned David Harkey, IIHS president. “We have to examine whether or not this can be a broader pattern that will have contributed to the current spike in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities.”

And right here’s a shocker: there’s no federal check requiring that automakers measure blindspots. So, yeah, it’s simply not essential, apparently.

“The Institute needed to develop a whole new methodology simply to measure visibility with easy-to-use moveable digicam rigs, since earlier strategies required cumbersome testing procedures, poring over engineering drawings, and even using lasers,” Streetsblog provides.

The excellent news is that cameras and ADAS (superior driver help programs) have been enhancing visibility and deterring accidents in some instances, however that doesn’t change that poor visibility — particularly wanting ahead — is a large drawback. One sometimes isn’t going to depend on digicam feeds besides when backing up or attempting to park. And, whereas ADAS positively prevents some accidents, if a bicyclist or pedestrian is about to cross the highway in entrance of you and also you step on the accelerator, chances are high, you’re going to hit that individual — arduous.

Whereas so much has been performed to make vehicles safer, particularly for the individuals inside them, and advances in sensor know-how have helped to stop accidents, the dearth of concern for blindspots and the truth that they appear like they’re on steroids now are main issues the auto trade needs to be working to handle. Hopefully this IIHS examine and its plans for continued work on this subject will assist to make that occur.