An innovative study by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has linked the rise in pedestrian and cyclist deaths to a decrease in the driver visibility of six top selling vehicles in the U.S.
The study finds that forward visibility within a 10-meter radius dropped significantly in SUVs (58 per cent) and trucks (17 per cent). While cars were also found to have reduced visibility, decreasing by 8 per cent.
The decrease in visibility within vehicles is largely due to taller hoods, larger mirrors and thicker A-pillars that are more likely to obstruct the drivers view.
Measuring the danger
The US Department of Transportation designed a new method to measure visibility, using a portable camera rig and software that creates ‘blind-zone maps,’ within the vehicle.
Examining 17 redesigns of six top-selling vehicles across 1997 – 2023, the study coincides with pedestrian and cyclist fatalities increasing across the same 25-year span.
From 1997-2023 the U.S. there has been a 37 per cent increase in pedestrian deaths and a 42 per cent increase in cyclist deaths. The study suggests that the decreasing visibility of the modern-day road day vehicle plays a large part in these numbers.
In addition to this, IIHS president David Harkey called for mandated safety-tech in other areas to assist drivers with the risks of blind spots. Increasing the regulation of tech like anti-lock brakes for motorcycles, impaired driving prevention systems, and increasing the oversight of vehicle automation systems will help reduce rising crash fatalities.
Local toll
On Australian shores, it is not known if similar testing has been reported, and it comes at a time where the death toll on Australian roads is getting worse.
The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) said the worst road toll in 15 years recorded this year was driven in part by large increases in deaths of cyclists (up 36.7 per cent to 41 deaths) and pedestrians (up 15.7 per cent to 192 deaths).
The AAA has made it clear they believe data collection surrounding vehicle crashes in Australia must improve and want sophisticated analysis of the Australian roads where crashes occur.
AAA managing director Michael Bradley said earlier in the year that, “We must use data and evidence about crashes…to establish what is going wrong on our roads and create more effective interventions.”