January 4, 2020, corner of Saint-Hubert and Bélanger, 3:38 p.m.: A delivery truck driver turns left at a green traffic light and fatally hits pedestrian Agnes T Nguyen Thi, 74 years old. It is possible that the victim was “unfortunately at the exact level of the driver’s front left blind spot,” the coroner noted, citing the obstruction caused by the windshield pillar.
Posted at 5:00 am.
About an hour later, on the same January day, another collision occurred 2 km north, at the corner of Lajeunesse and Liège. A sport utility vehicle (SUV) turns left and mows down 79-year-old Rosa Presta, who was crossing the traffic light when the light was green. “The most likely theory of the accident […] is that the driver did not see Ms. Presta in the blind spot […]as the A-pillar of the vehicle blocked his view,” a second coroner wrote.
The increasingly robust and impressive A-pillars or windshield pillars – some of which house airbags – save lives. Those of drivers and passengers, for example in the event of a rollover. On the other hand, the blind spot created by these driver-side pillars is blamed for a growing number of deaths. From the summer of 2019 to the summer of 2022, no fewer than 10 coroner’s reports in Montreal mentioned windshield pillar clogging as one of the probable or proven causes of an accident that resulted in the death of a pedestrian. , reveals a review in La Presse.
During this period, 20% of vehicle-pedestrian collision investigations in the metropolis highlighted this visibility problem.
IMAGE FROM A MEDICAL REPORT
Honda CR-V involved in fatal collision with pedestrian on July 28, 2019
Nine cases involved oversized vehicles: three SUVs, three vans, two trucks and a bus.
“Vehicles have never been safer… for their occupants,” notes Marie-Soleil Cloutier, a road safety expert and full professor at the National Institute of Scientific Research.
However, this comes at the expense of those outside the vehicle, be it due to the higher hoods or the limited visibility from the A-pillars.
Marie-Soleil Cloutier, road safety expert
The dangers associated with frontal blind spots arise primarily when a driver turns left after mandatory braking or at a green traffic light that he or she shares with another road user. If both are traveling for a moment at a similar speed and in the same direction, the pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist can disappear from the driver’s field of vision for significant seconds.
Under these circumstances, fatal collisions are likely to occur; The width of the A-pillars often depends on the size of the vehicle. However, according to the Quebec Statistics Institute, the number of Montrealers who own a so-called “light truck” has exploded between 2011 and 2021, rising from 184,000 to 329,000.
In North Carolina, researchers analyzed all traffic accidents that killed pedestrians between 2010 and 2018. Results released last year show that pickup trucks are 42% more likely than cars to hit pedestrians when turning left. For SUVs, the risks increase by 23%.
In the dock… the A-pillar on the driver’s side. The American study shows that there is no significant difference in the accident rate between different types of vehicles when turning right.
A current problem
In Quebec, interest in the blind spot created by windshield pillars is relatively new. A coroner sounded the alarm in 2018 after a 63-year-old pedestrian died in Lac-Brome. “Over the years, automakers have built increasingly solid vehicles,” writes Richard Drapeau in his report. To do this they have [renforcé] certain parts of vehicles, including windshield pillars. And in doing so they have created an ever-growing blind spot. »
Left turns caused three times more fatal collisions than right turns in Montreal, our overview of pedestrian and vehicle accidents since 2000 shows.
In addition, 13 of the 15 recent accidents in our compilation in the metropolis – there may have been more since then – involved an oversized vehicle: 6 vans, 4 SUVs, 3 trucks and 2 vans.
“In Quebec, SUVs are 2.5 times more likely to be involved in collisions with pedestrians than other vehicle types,” notes Équiterre in a report published in 2021.
However, vehicles of all sizes have more or less large visibility gaps to the front left for the driver. It is also a small car whose production has now stopped, a Dodge Dart, which took the life of little Liam, 8 years old, when he joined his father at the end of the day camp, July 22, 2020.
“There is reason to question the interior space of certain vehicles: Although vehicles are built more robustly to protect occupants, the pillars of the windshields create an ever-increasing blind spot and obscure the driver’s vision,” the coroner wrote in her report .
Courses checked and corrected
There is currently no perfect solution to retroactively compensate for the dead zone created by the windshield pillars. It is up to drivers to move their heads slightly to look from side to side of the pillars when approaching an intersection.
In 2018, Coroner Drapeau recommended that the SAAQ “change the content of driving courses to make new road vehicle drivers aware of the danger posed by windscreen pillars.” A section on this topic was actually added to the Driving a Passenger Vehicle Guide and Road Access Book added, both published by the SAAQ. The Quebec Driving Schools Association also included it in its “Learn to Drive” manual.
However, the Road Guide and certain driving school manuals – for example the one from Tecnic that we were able to consult – ignore the A-pillars. “This topic is covered in the practical courses and not in the theoretical courses,” notes Stéphane Guertin. Vice President Operations at Tecnic.
Is the message getting through? We interviewed ten new drivers; Seven of them told us that they could not remember hearing about blind spots at the front of cars during their theory and practical courses.
In a report published in 2019, an expert panel on pedestrian safety recommended that all road vehicle drivers be made aware of “the pedestrian safety issue associated with blind spots created by barrier posts.”
In 2020, the SAAQ notably produced and distributed a video capsule on social networks.
The fact is that North American pedestrians are less well protected than their European counterparts. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) regulates the A-pillars; The obstacle angle should not be greater than 6 degrees. This harmonization directive is binding in the European Union. Although they are also members of the UNECE, the United States and Canada have not incorporated maximum obstacle angles into their legislation.
In South America, for example, a sample of 75 cars analyzed by Brazilian researchers had blind spots between 8 and 15.3 degrees on the driver’s side and between 7 and 11.5 degrees on the passenger side. However, the calculation methods may differ.
Transport Canada, responsible for the manufacturing requirements of cars sold in the country, is still in the research stage of the catastrophic pillars. “Projects […] “Concentrate on the shape and position of the A-pillars,” says a spokesman. “The development of new measurement techniques and methods is used to create test protocols to assess risks and their mitigation methods. If this investigation determines that implementing a regulation will provide a net benefit, Transport Canada will not hesitate to take the necessary steps. »
Why have the A-pillars grown?
PHOTO FROM THE INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY FACEBOOK PAGE
From 2009 to 2022, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety required that a vehicle must withstand at least four times its weight to receive a “good” rating.
Beginning in 2009, North American federal agencies and safety organizations introduced roof resilience criteria. In recent years, significant defects have been observed in SUVs that are more likely to roll over. From 2009 to 2022, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) required a vehicle to withstand at least four times its weight to receive a “good” rating. “We discontinued roof strength testing because virtually all vehicles performed well,” the IIHS says on its website today. According to American standards from 2009, modeled at the time by Transport Canada, a vehicle must be able to carry three times its mass. In order to meet these safety requirements for the occupants, the A-pillars, which not only support the windshield and rear window, but also the roof, were reinforced and widened.