Which? Car says that even though cars are being built stronger and safer, drivers’ views have become more restricted. The consumer champion has revealed which vehicles have the best and worst scores in driver visibility.
All-round visibility has generally gotten worse over the past 15 years. This is because of the car door and roof pillars that have been strengthened to make cars safer. The size of the pillars has grown from slim strips to thick and heavy chunks of metal.
At least 1% of all automobile accidents are caused by vehicle blind spots. The RoSPA estimates that eliminating blind spots would prevent about 25 fatal accidents every year.
After conducting rigorous research using specially designed equipment, Which? Car found that the following vehicles had the top 5 visibility scores:
The Smart ForTwo Coupé came in first with a driver visibility score of 64.8%, which is due to its lack of a B pillar, usually found between the front and rear doors of most cars. Next, at 58.7% was the Fiat 5000, with the Citroën C3 Picasso in third place with a score of 58.2%. The Ford Galaxy MPV’s elevated driver position improves the driver’s line of sight, resulting in a score of 57.4%, and to a lesser extent, the VW Golf Plus enjoys a similar benefit, which puts it in fifth place with a score of 56.2%.
Lower down on the list were convertibles such as the Lexus IS 250C, at 39.4%, the BMW Z4, at 38.7%, and the Porsche Boxster, at 31.4%. Although the convertibles rated poorly, their view obviously improves when the roof is put down. The Honda Civic, although futuristic, has definite visibility problems due to a split rear screen, which leaves it with a visibility score of 37.6%.
According to Richard Headland, editor of Which? Car, making sure that cars protect their occupants in the event of a crash is of vital importance, but common sense and research also indicate that crashes are more likely to occur when the driver’s visibility is reduced. This is particularly a concern for the more vulnerable road occupants such as cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians.
There are some models that received high visibility scores that also had good results in crash tests, which proves that it is entirely possible for car manufacturers to design vehicles that are safe without compromising driver visibility.
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