Did you have any close calls with pedestrians because of the front windshield beam covering the view

[Anonymous]

That is a spinoff of the MOCO traffic problems..

Apparently lots of accidents happen when a pedestrian gets precisely blocked by the beam and the driver has no way of seeing them...
Did this happen to you and did you notice someone last second? This is especially tricky in the parking lot when there are lots of people walking at slow speed or standing and your car driving slow.


Some kid invented pretty clever technology that could potentially save lives.



https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/5/20949952/car-blind-spots-pillar-windshield-fix-webcam-kia-hyundai-gassler


If you have 360 camera, use it while in the parking lot driving at very slow speed as this can help you to see.

[Anonymous]

I like that.

[Anonymous]

As a driver, I used to have this problem, but fyi one big reason that this is a problem is due to the driver. If you roll slowly through stop signs, or just roll slowly, you are often rolling at exactly the speed of the pedestrian in your blind spot crossing the street, so the pedestrian stays in the blind spot.

So if you do a more crisp (short decelleration)+(full stop) and no inching along, it will really help.

[Anonymous]

Yes, once as the driver. More often I’m the pedestrian nearly getting run over.

[Anonymous]

In my Honda, yes. I think it’s because I am also short.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a driver, I used to have this problem, but fyi one big reason that this is a problem is due to the driver. If you roll slowly through stop signs, or just roll slowly, you are often rolling at exactly the speed of the pedestrian in your blind spot crossing the street, so the pedestrian stays in the blind spot.

So if you do a more crisp (short decelleration)+(full stop) and no inching along, it will really help.

This--at full stop, the peds will have time to take a step or two and you will see them.
In parking lots, pulling through or backing in is much safer than backing out--when backing in, you only have to worry about the space you're backing into (and you can see it!) whereas when you're backing out, it's really hard to see who's behind you if there are other cars around.

And yeah, all of the pillars in a car can impede visibility, but it's your job as the driver to stop and look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my Honda, yes. I think it’s because I am also short.

This has nothing to do with being short, and everything to do with being an inattentive/sh!tty driver.

- 5'2" who has never had this problem because I am a pedestrian 75% of the time and know how to drive and pay attention to my surroundings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is a spinoff of the MOCO traffic problems..

Apparently lots of accidents happen when a pedestrian gets precisely blocked by the beam and the driver has no way of seeing them...
Did this happen to you and did you notice someone last second? This is especially tricky in the parking lot when there are lots of people walking at slow speed or standing and your car driving slow.


Some kid invented pretty clever technology that could potentially save lives.



https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/5/20949952/car-blind-spots-pillar-windshield-fix-webcam-kia-hyundai-gassler


If you have 360 camera, use it while in the parking lot driving at very slow speed as this can help you to see.

This is called the "A pillar".

The tech sounds great.

The most effective way to prevent A pillar blind spots is to come to a complete stop so that the pedestrian moves out of the narrow A pillar blind spot. Rolling is the enemy here.

[Anonymous]

No, because I lean forward and look like any reasonably competent driver.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my Honda, yes. I think it’s because I am also short.

This has nothing to do with being short, and everything to do with being an inattentive/sh!tty driver.

- 5'2" who has never had this problem because I am a pedestrian 75% of the time and know how to drive and pay attention to my surroundings

You know there are people even shorter than you, right? Cars are not really built with them in mind. So yes, height could contribute to this problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my Honda, yes. I think it’s because I am also short.

This has nothing to do with being short, and everything to do with being an inattentive/sh!tty driver.

- 5'2" who has never had this problem because I am a pedestrian 75% of the time and know how to drive and pay attention to my surroundings

You know there are people even shorter than you, right? Cars are not really built with them in mind. So yes, height could contribute to this problem.

DP - that's fair, but it's on us as drivers, no matter our challenges, to operate in a safe manner. That means not running people over or even getting close to it. It is absolutely possible to work around this issue, but not if you drive like an entitled a-hole, which is most of the DC area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my Honda, yes. I think it’s because I am also short.

This has nothing to do with being short, and everything to do with being an inattentive/sh!tty driver.

- 5'2" who has never had this problem because I am a pedestrian 75% of the time and know how to drive and pay attention to my surroundings

You know there are people even shorter than you, right? Cars are not really built with them in mind. So yes, height could contribute to this problem.

DP - that's fair, but it's on us as drivers, no matter our challenges, to operate in a safe manner. That means not running people over or even getting close to it. It is absolutely possible to work around this issue, but not if you drive like an entitled a-hole, which is most of the DC area.

+1000. Driving is a privilege, not a right. If you can’t do it safely, the correct response is not to do it at all, not to shrug your shoulders and say “sucks for the pedestrians I guess”

[Anonymous]

Yes. Our Ford Explorer fleet cars have the biggest A-pillar blind spots of any vehicle I have ever driven.

I’m astonished that engineers at Ford actually produced a design like this.

On the other hand, Subaru has the best forward visibility of any car I’ve driven.

[Anonymous]

Not a surprise. One SUV I looked at really concerned me with that. I really liked it but decided against it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, because I lean forward and look like any reasonably competent driver.

I literally lean to look around the A-pillar (thanks, pp, for the terminology) from both sides because I don’t ever want to miss a pedestrian. I’m especially cautious after dark, when pedestrians are even harder to see. After dark, I scan intersections really carefully before turning.