Any - Wife pillars and blind spots | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 12:22

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - scot22

I realise it is an individual judgement however I am interested in collective wisdom. I have read in too many car reviews that wide pillars lead to worrying blindspots.

Is there any data on collisions caused by blind spots ?

I am also interested in hearing of any anecdotal evidence on blind spots.

Are any manufacturers /models which are particularly bad ?

We have legislation covering many aspects of motoring. Why not car design and safety ?

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 12:30

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - Gibbo_Wirral

Many new cars have a light on the wing mirror that indicates when there's something in your blind spot.

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 12:40

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - scot22

Thanks Gibbo. Although, if it works properly, that can be a help but I would not want to depend on it.

Also by the time cars such as Volvo V40 come into my price range probably due for first round of expensive repairs.

Noticed typo, should be wide not wife in heading.

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 12:43

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - kerbed enthusiasm

We used to have a Meriva (A) which was atrocious for the blind spot created by its A pillar. To be fair, you quickly adjust and adopt a bobble-head approach to driving but I have always thought that such considerations should form part of the NCAP testing.

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 12:47

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - scot22

Agree 100%.

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 13:11

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - galileo

Misled by your heading, was about to suggest Lot of the Old Testament woiuld be the man to ask. :-)

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 13:27

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - scot22

We really need a like button !

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 14:35

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - Bilboman

I strongly suspect that thick pillars and a host of other day-to-day "obstructions" (efficient sound deadening, loud music systems, sat-nav instructions,...) cause rather more near-misses than actual accidents. Which begs the question - has research ever been done on near-misses?
I believe changes to road layouts, junctions, etc., are only ever approved and carried out with any urgency after specifically reported and investigated collisions, injuries and, ultimately, death(s). I'm convinced our driving would become less stressful and our roads somewhat safer if "near misses" were properly investigated as rigorously as actual incidents.But then again, perceptions of safer roads may make us complacent and so we head straight back to square one!

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 15:14

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - Falkirk Bairn

Driven for 50+ years - reversing etc not an issue. 2 external mirrors were a great addition. My current car has beepers, front & back, reverse camera.........never thought I would use them - now essential!

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 15:26

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - scot22

It seems to me that cars are designed to appeal to image. Investigating near misses will require honesty. Unfortunately the blame culture discourages this.

My parking needs improvement and current designs are not helpful. My biggest concern is missing something when emerging from a side road or pedestrians when driving in town. Obviously there are many other concerns.

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 16:11

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - Avant

I could edit the title but won't, particularly in view of Galileo's comment!

I remember a local paper reporting the golden wedding of 'Mr Albert Smith and his wide Edith', with a picture showing that the slip had a Freudian edge to it.

Re blind spots, I think it's the more stringent safety requirements which have led to a lower proportion of glass compared with 30-40 years ago. Cars like the Austin Maestro were very easy to see out of, but the pillars can't have given much protection in a rollover.

Nowadays some makes are better than others in not letting the stylist have it all his own way: VWs. Audis, Skodas, BMWs and Mercedes are easy to see out of. In particuilar it's best to avoid letterbox-like rear windows (Volvo V40, Honda Civic, RR Evoque, especially the plug-ugly 3-door).

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 16:17

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - scot22

Thanks, that's very valuable specific advice. The safety aspect of wider pillars is something I hadnt considered . I do still like the previous gen A Class but concerned it would be a money pit. Anyone with experience with Hyundai and Kia ?

Edited by scot22 on 01/03/2018 at 16:21

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 16:49

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - Steveieb

Got the opportunity to try quite a range of cars at Milbrook last summer but the car which I. Noticed with the worst forward looking blind spots was the Renault Cajar (spl). The wide pillars made it so difficult to see out of and thus was not in a real life road condition.

But the Honda Civic must take the prize for poor rearward vision, and the new model didn't seem to be a great improvement.

Another problem for the FireService presented by these thick pillars is that their cutting gear will not , lm told will not cut through the steel.

Add this to the problem of dealing with crashes involving lithium powered cars and they may need to upgrade their approach.

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 16:56

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - scot22

Thanks Steve. So many things to think about.

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Fri 2 Mar 2018 10:01

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - Smileyman

Got the opportunity to try quite a range of cars at Milbrook last summer but the car which I. Noticed with the worst forward looking blind spots was the Renault Cajar (spl). The wide pillars made it so difficult to see out of and thus was not in a real life road condition. But the Honda Civic must take the prize for poor rearward vision, and the new model didn't seem to be a great improvement. Another problem for the FireService presented by these thick pillars is that their cutting gear will not , lm told will not cut through the steel. Add this to the problem of dealing with crashes involving lithium powered cars and they may need to upgrade their approach.

Rear visability. .. hence increased need for rear beeper and camera, also excuse not to turn head to look out of rear windows...

Edited by Smileyman on 02/03/2018 at 10:03

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 17:58

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - Bolt

I think it's the more stringent safety requirements which have led to a lower proportion of glass

iirc Ford said they were going to use Gorilla glass in their cars,(mobile phone glass) if so, maybe other car makers will do the same- which means better vision all round and safer!

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Fri 2 Mar 2018 11:06

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - Bromptonaut

I don't think there's any truth in that.

Pretty sure structural rigidity/roll over protection is part of it but that and styling are not alternatives; could be a bit of both. On holiday in France in summer there was a Renault 21 Savannah and a Pug 405 estate on campsite pitches close to ours. Both had, compared to modern cars, very little metal holding the roof up.

Both current and previous Berlingos (different models) had thick A pillars. Not too difficult in UK with a bit of head movement but very easy to 'lose' a vehicle behind the left one when approaching a French roundabout.

Only place I really struggle with our current cars is exiting the car park we use for work. Issue there though is splay on exit road requiring one to look out of nearside rear windows, passenger seat and pillars conspite to make this difficult.

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 19:37

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - Metropolis.

I have terrible trouble with the wife pillar, it seems to lean forward at exactly the same moment i’m trying to see what’s on the car’s left!

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 19:49

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - scot22

Nice one !

I had a 9-3, certainly one of the best cars I've driven.

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Thu 1 Mar 2018 23:09

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - focussed

If you think about why the A pillars are so thick on modern cars, it's down to rollover structural protection and also, many cars have an airbag in the A pillar, this needs room to fit it.

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Fri 2 Mar 2018 11:10

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - Bolt

If you think about why the A pillars are so thick on modern cars, it's down to rollover structural protection and also, many cars have an airbag in the A pillar, this needs room to fit it.

Disagree, just lazy design. Like I posted earlier they can't be bothered.

If they couldn`t be bothered then they would just leave a thin pillar which was only just capable of protecting the occupants.

which in some accidents would be useless in a rollover as said before

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Fri 2 Mar 2018 12:22

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - corax

My Forester has fairly slender A pillars. All round visibility is superb. The roll over protection is extremely good for the day, but that's mostly thanks to the unique B pillars being 8 sheets of steel thick with a solid steel bar running through the middle, apparently making it hard for rescue services to cut the roof off.

AsTrilogy mentioned earlier, Saab 900 was very strong.

tinyurl.com/y939rb5n

Edited by corax on 02/03/2018 at 12:29

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Fri 2 Mar 2018 15:32

Any - Wife pillars and blind spots - Bromptonaut

AsTrilogy mentioned earlier, Saab 900 was very strong.

tinyurl.com/y939rb5n

While the A pillars are slim the rear set (C pillar?) are huge. I suspect the roof's strength is derived from those.

My Skoda has air bags in the front pillars, another good enginering reason for their increased size.

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