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Cars' Forward Blind Zones Are Worse Now Than 25 Years Ago: Study
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has developed a new way to measure a driver's outward visibility from a vehicle.
DOT researchers used the method to examine the change in what a driver can see out of multiple generations of popular vehicles produced over the past 25 years.
The results show that, for the selected vehicles (Chevrolet Suburban, Ford F-150, Honda Accord and CR-V, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Toyota Camry), the outward view has decreased.
When we review a new vehicle, we pay close attention to how easy or difficult it is to see out of, and that information makes it into everything from road tests to comparisons to our buyer's guide. But even our exhaustive test regimen doesn't spit out a quantifiable value for outward visibility. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has a new method to look at what drivers can't look at, and the results of a DOT study using the method suggest that things have gotten worse over the past quarter-century.
The IIHS came up with an easier way to repeatably measure and compare what a driver can see in a 180-degree forward-facing view out of a vehicle. The method involves a special portable camera rig that captures a driver's view. That image is then processed to determine what percentage of the road in a specified radius is visible, and what's blocked by the vehicle's A-pillars, hood, and side-view mirrors. The result is an aerial view of where the driver's vision is obstructed—the blind zone—as well as a percentage of the surrounding area that's visible.
Previously, this task required either access to engineering drawings or a specially prepared area in which to take measurements. Researchers can also use lasers for this, but, according to the IIHS, that method doesn't capture zones blocked by side-view mirrors or the wide bases of a vehicle's A-pillars.
For the study, researchers with the U.S. Department of Transportation's Volpe Center used the IIHS method to examine every generation of some popular vehicles sold between 1997 and 2023. The models chosen were the Chevrolet Suburban, the Ford F-150, the Honda Accord, the Honda CR-V, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the Toyota Camry. The analysis measured how much of a 10-meter radius is visible to a driver; this distance was chosen because that's approximately how much space a driver needs to react and stop when traveling at 10 mph. The study also measured visibility between 10 and 20 meters from the vehicle.
The biggest model-specific difference was observed with the Honda CR-V. In a 1997 model, the researchers measured 68 percent visibility, while the 2022 came in at just 28 percent. In a 2000 Suburban, the study measured 56 percent visible area within the 10-meter radius, but in a 2023 model it was down to 28 percent. The study concluded that higher hoods on newer versions of both models had the biggest impact on outward visibility.
The F-150 started out with low visibility (43% for a 1997 model) and also declined (36% for the 2015 version). The two sedans in the study saw the least regression: A 2003 Accord was measured at 65 percent visibility, with the 2023 close behind at 60 percent, and the Camry went from 61 percent for the 2007 model to 57 percent for a 2023. Results for visibility between 10 and 20 meters were mixed, with some improving and others decreasing over subsequent generations.
The study also notes that, during the same time period, pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on U.S. roads increased dramatically—37 and 42 percent, respectively.
While this is not conclusive evidence across the industry, the results from these representative vehicles suggest an overall decline in outward frontal visibility. The study also notes that, during the same time period, pedestrian and bicyclist deaths on U.S. roads increased dramatically—37 and 42 percent, respectively. There's likely at least some causation with that correlation, even when you consider the addition of features such as automated emergency braking that are meant to intervene and prevent such collisions.
Anecdotally, it's pretty clear that it has gotten harder to see out of new vehicles over the years. We're now at a point where technology like digital rearview cameras is augmenting—or, in the case of the rear-window-less Polestar 4, replacing—what a driver can see from the helm. This, along with features such as blind-spot monitoring, seems to have emboldened designers to further shrink the glass on a vehicle and worry less about what parts of the body obstruct the outward view.
While we welcome this new measurement technique developed by the IIHS, it's interesting to note that some of the group's own ratings may also play into this reduction in forward view. Enlarging A-pillars, along with increased use of high-strength steel, is one way automakers improve a vehicle's crash performance, especially in rollover testing. Those changes, of course, have the negative downstream effect of obstructing a driver's vision.
The Volpe Center researchers conclude that this new measurement method shows promise, and they believe the trend of worsening outward visibility warrants further study.
David Gluckman
Contributing Editor
Ever since David was a wee Car and Driver intern, he has kept a spreadsheet listing all the vehicles he's driven and tested. David really likes spreadsheets. He can parallel-park a school bus and once drove a Lincoln Town Car 63 mph in reverse. After taking a break from journalism to work on autonomous vehicles, he's back writing for this and other automotive publications. When David's not searching for the perfect used car, you can find him sampling the latest in gimmicky, limited-edition foodstuffs.
