Influence of visibility out of the vehicle cabin on lane-change crashes.
The influence of lateral visibility from the vehicle cabin on safety was evaluated by examining the differences in lane-change crashes of four-door and two-door body styles of the same vehicle models. These two vehicle styles were used because B-pillars (the pillars between the front and rear seats) on four-door models are farther forward, and thus nearer the fore-aft position of the driver. (Furthermore, the B-pillars on two-door models can be narrower, and some two-door models have no B-pillars at all.) To control for driver differences between these two body styles, going-straight-ahead crashes were used for comparison. The analysis used 2000-2003 North Carolina crash data, and considered the crash experience of four-door and two-door body styles for the same 10 vehicles for model years 1995 and newer. The main finding is that four-door body styles are more likely to be involved in lane-change crashes than are two-door body styles of the same vehicle models. This finding suggests that lateral visibility out of the vehicle cabin affects safety.
Sivak
Michael
M
The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, 2901 Baxter Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2150, USA. sivak@umich.edu
Schoettle
Brandon
B
Reed
Matthew P
MP
Flannagan
Michael J
MJ
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001334:Automobile Driving; D001336:Automobiles; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D009657:North Carolina; D016017:Odds Ratio; D014785:Vision, Ocular