Body-pillar vision obstructions and lane-change crashes.
BACKGROUND
This exploratory study investigated the relationship between vision obstructions from body pillars and lane-change crashes.


METHODS
The vision obstructions were quantified by measuring, from the driver's perspective, the horizontal angular sizes and locations of the driver-side A-, B-, and C-pillars. The sample consisted of 21 vehicle models, including 13 passenger cars, 6 SUVs, 1 minivan, and 1 pickup truck. To control for driver differences, going-straight crashes were used for comparison, with the dependent variable being the ratio of lane-change crashes to going-straight crashes. The analysis used North Carolina crash data.


RESULTS
The results of a multiple regression indicate that the relative frequency of lane-change crashes tended to increase with both wider A-pillars and with A-pillars located farther away from straight ahead.


CONCLUSIONS
The finding supports the hypothesis that visibility obstructions due to A-pillars have safety implications.
Sivak
Michael
M
The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2150, USA. sivak@umich.edu
Schoettle
Brandon
B
Reed
Matthew P
MP
Flannagan
Michael J
MJ
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D001336:Automobiles; D004779:Environment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety; D006801:Humans; D009657:North Carolina; D012399:Rotation; D012449:Safety; D014796:Visual Perception