Defensive Driving May Save Your Life

Driving through town, as you approach the intersection, you have the right of way. With cross traffic at stop signs, you don't even slow down.You don't pay much attention to what the other drivers are doing. Just as you get close enough that you couldn't stop, the truck crossing from your left just pulls out in front of you. WHAM, you nail him in the passenger side at 40 mph. You know this is going to hurt.

Every day maybe thousands of commercial vehicles, and buses travel the streets of every city. Streets that are crowded with parked cars, pedestrians, and the foliage of many trees. All add to the atmosphere of life in the city. There is an adverse side of this hustle and bustle. It obstructs vision. Add into the equation the nature of the beast the other person is driving, and blind spots abound everywhere.

Delivery vehicles have one very dangerous feature, they have a larger then normal A-Pillar. The A-Pillar is the structure that supports the windshield, and possibly the door of a vehicle. As you progress down the side of a vehicle, each remaining vertical structure is referred to as a B-Pillar, then C-Pillar. For this example the A-Pillar is the culprit.

When the truck driver stops at the intersection, he will probably look to the right first. If you happen to be at the point where you are in line with his A-Pillar he won't see you. The A-Pillar is from 4"to 8" wide, when he looks in that direction, as though he was trying to look through the pillar, the blind spot behind the pillar comes into play. What is a 4" vision blocker becomes a 10'-15' blind spot, when it is projected down the road to the point you and your car have entered.

The truck driver will probably look to the left, and if he sees nothing, he may pull out without double checking to the right again. This is the point where your day has been ruined because he had no idea you were there.

Even worse, if the truck or bus is rolling forward a little, while he is checking traffic, the blind spot will follow you. As you get closer, it's possible to be lost in this moving blind spot for 5 seconds or more. Plenty of time to carry you beyond the point of no return.