Blind Spots a bigger problem than before
The Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) put popular 4x4’s to the test and discovered that well-known SUV’s such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Land Rover Discovery and Freelander and Hyundai Santa Fe had the largest blind spots out of 24 cars tested.
These vehicles have blind spots almost twice the size of normal family vehicles and are becoming a major safety hazard to pedestrians and other road users. In London, England, 4x4 drivers have been warned about these dangerous blind spots and they are asked to take extra special care when moving off after dropping or collecting children from schools.
Autoglass, that commissioned the research, says that 4x4 vehicles require thicker A pillars in comparison to smaller vehicles, due to their size. They also claimed that
25 000 road accidents in the UK were due to drivers that did not pay special attention to their blind spots and objects had been obscured from the driver’s vision.
From all the 4x4’s tested, the Jeep Grand Cherokee was found to be the most dangerous when it comes to the big blind spot, because it has an A-spot of 4.5m compared to an Audi A4’s 0.3m.
RoadSafe is a group that campaigns to reduce traffic deaths and injuries and after acknowledging Autoglass’s research, feels that all drivers, but especially those of 4x4’s need to pay attention to their blind spots, so that injuries and deaths on the roads can be reduced.
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