Visibility Dangers
QLEAR visibility is essential for safe driving. Motorists who have allowed the “blind spots” of their vehicles to grow on them — that is, when they have become so used to them that they forget the dangers of these gaps in their driving vision, are asking for trouble.
A driver’s field of view can be obstructed by window pillars. In certain circumstances an object approaching or crossing the path of a vehicle can be obscured for a sufficient time for accidents to occur Examples shown in this diagram illustrate situations dan-
gerous to a pedestrian crossing from the right and an overtaking motor-cycle. The British Road Research Laboratory has shown that where window frames are less than two inches thick there is no perceptible break in a driver’s vision, but few vehicles have pillars as thin as this.
Also, research has shown that internal rear vision mirrors are often too small to give an adequate view of the traffic scene at the back of the vehicle. This is particularly so in light vans and commercial vehicles with small rear windows. An external mirror is essential to correct this defect in these cases.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30365, 14 February 1964, Page 9
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193Visibility Dangers Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30365, 14 February 1964, Page 9
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