Georgia Injury Law Blog
Much of motorist safety has to do with safe vehicle design. Thousands of car accidents every year are likely caused by imperfect or defective design of automobiles. A disturbing new study finds that some of the top-selling cars in America, including larger automobiles like SUVs and pickup trucks have blind zones that have expanded in size over the past 25 years. Simply put, larger blind spots greatly increase the risk of car accidents.
The analysis was conducted recently by researchers at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a group that has been in the forefront of demanding that automakers implement safer vehicle designs as a way of preventing car accident wrongful deaths. This study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety used new measurement techniques to measure a motorist’s area of vision around the vehicle.
The study found that between 1997 and 2023, forward visibility around a vehicle dropped by as much as 58% in some of the most popular SUVs on the market. In the case of pickup trucks, the forward visibility dropped by 17%. This means that the blind zones in many of the most popular and highest- selling pickup trucks and SUVs in the United States have actually been decreasing significantly in size over the past few years.
A blind zone is the area around a vehicle that is not visible to the driver either directly or through any of the mirrors in the car. When there is a large blind zone around a vehicle, the number of things motorists can see around the car, like pedestrians or cyclists is lower. A driver may not be able to see pedestrians or bicyclists coming up from behind him or approaching from the sides. This lowered field of vision around the car means the driver is not able to take any actions to prevent an auto accident.
The findings of the study are even more concerning in the context of the increasing number of pedestrian and bicycle accident fatalities in the United States over the past decade. While there has been progress in reducing the number of car accidents involving motor vehicles, there has been an increase in the number of pedestrians being killed in car accidents. Walking is now one of the most dangerous activities on American streets, and part of the reason for that is the evolving design of large automobiles that have come to prioritize appearance and performance over safety of people outside the vehicle.
The Atlanta car accident lawyers at Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons who have suffered injuries in car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across the state of Georgia. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a car accident, talk to an attorney at our firm and discuss your legal options for a claim for damages. You may qualify for damages that include medical costs, lost income and other types of compensation. Talk to a lawyer at our firm and discuss your case. Initial consultations are free.