5 ms·

those A pillar blind spots are a result of roll over requirements. A pillars used to be very small.

by abfan1127 2y ago

selectodude 2y ago
Doesn’t help that cars weigh several tons now.
- MBCook 2y ago
  Heavier car = bigger pillars, yep. Add in higher window lines (due to raised SUV hoods, I imagine) and it’s so much harder to see out modern cars.
ak217 2y ago
I think it's a combination of that and curtain air bags which are often packaged on the pillars. And of course the rollover requirements are predominantly due to SUVs and trucks being so high off the ground (needlessly most of the time) they are more susceptible to rollover. Minimal visibility requirements around A pillars (and in front of the car/over the hood) sound like the logical next step.
- xnx 2y ago
  Aerodynamics is also a factor. Windows used to be less sloped and more vertical.
- toss1 2y ago
  >>high off the ground (needlessly most of the time) they are more susceptible to rollover. Also the far greater mass of the vehicle requires far stronger A-, B- and C-pillars to not crush in a rollover Forcing all vehicles onto a 30-50% weight loss diet would help every factor tremendously, including reduced braking distances and more nimble turning to reduce collisions in the first place, reduced impact when there are collisions, reduced road wear, reduced fuel/energy consumption, etc.. Everything gets better with lighter weight, but engineers/designers seem happy to blow right past any weight budget at the slightest excuse (if there even is a weight budget in the design brief). The sheer mass of vehicles these days, even so-called "sportscars" never ceases to amaze me, and when it gets to SUVs and trucks, it's just insane. The technology certainly exists to cut weights by close to half, to levels of 35 years ago, and improve safety and performance while doing so.
xnx 2y ago
This is one of those unintended consequences where things be came safer for passengers, but more dangerous for those outside the vehicle.
loeg 2y ago
It's a result of roll over requirements in tandem with a complete lack of requirement around A-pillar visibility, yeah. It's not like a hard limit of materials science that A-pillars have to have poor visibility to be rollover safe.

those A pillar blind spots are a result of roll over requirements. A pillars used to be very small.

selectodude 2y ago

Doesn’t help that cars weigh several tons now.

MBCook 2y ago
Heavier car = bigger pillars, yep. Add in higher window lines (due to raised SUV hoods, I imagine) and it’s so much harder to see out modern cars.

ak217 2y ago

I think it's a combination of that and curtain air bags which are often packaged on the pillars. And of course the rollover requirements are predominantly due to SUVs and trucks being so high off the ground (needlessly most of the time) they are more susceptible to rollover. Minimal visibility requirements around A pillars (and in front of the car/over the hood) sound like the logical next step.

xnx 2y ago
Aerodynamics is also a factor. Windows used to be less sloped and more vertical.
toss1 2y ago
>>high off the ground (needlessly most of the time) they are more susceptible to rollover. Also the far greater mass of the vehicle requires far stronger A-, B- and C-pillars to not crush in a rollover Forcing all vehicles onto a 30-50% weight loss diet would help every factor tremendously, including reduced braking distances and more nimble turning to reduce collisions in the first place, reduced impact when there are collisions, reduced road wear, reduced fuel/energy consumption, etc.. Everything gets better with lighter weight, but engineers/designers seem happy to blow right past any weight budget at the slightest excuse (if there even is a weight budget in the design brief). The sheer mass of vehicles these days, even so-called "sportscars" never ceases to amaze me, and when it gets to SUVs and trucks, it's just insane. The technology certainly exists to cut weights by close to half, to levels of 35 years ago, and improve safety and performance while doing so.

xnx 2y ago

This is one of those unintended consequences where things be came safer for passengers, but more dangerous for those outside the vehicle.

loeg 2y ago

It's a result of roll over requirements in tandem with a complete lack of requirement around A-pillar visibility, yeah. It's not like a hard limit of materials science that A-pillars have to have poor visibility to be rollover safe.