It looks like the top half of the A-pillar is about the same width as the distance between your eyes. That is significant, because for the majority of drivers (with 2 good eyes) the only true blind spot is the area that neither of their eyes can see, so a pillar with a width not more than the distance between the eyes is not obstructing their complete view, only each eye has a partial obstruction, but they do not overlap. If the pillar is wider (especially for shorter people, since the pillar becomes significantly wider for the lower half, even sprouting a small port window, the only way to see around the pillar is moving the head, which is good practice anyway and you will see experienced drivers move their head every few seconds. My problem is different - since I am tall and usually my head almost touches the roof even with the seat in the lowest setting, I usually have my view obstructed by the rear view mirror, so my blind spot is in a different position and I need to move my head to make sure I can look underneath the mirror to check the crosswalk when turning right. I did drive in the Leaf and did not find it bad in terms of visibility only was uncomfortable driving backwards since I am not used to a camera view behind the vehicle. But I have driven enough big vans with even worse rearview to still be safe.
Cor van de Water Chief Scientist Proxim Wireless Corporation http://www.proxim.com Email: [email protected] Private: http://www.cvandewater.info Skype: cor_van_de_water Tel: +1 408 383 7626 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Michael Ross Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2013 1:14 PM To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List Subject: Re: [EVDL] nissan leaf visibility issues Every car has an A post that you can't see through. The thing Nissan did was bring them forward, lower the roof, and narrow the cabin to reduce frontal area and improve aerodynamics. Efficiency leads to sales for a car like the Leaf, so the compromised in that direction. Every design choice is like this. Lowering the roof will turn off some taller people. A narrower car is less sporty. I bet the look started in concept cars. They wanted to differentiate the appearance in this direction. You can be sure it was a conscious decision by the engineers and management. It comes down to, if you don't like it, don't buy it. That is about all the influence the car buying public has. It is a feedback loop with an enormous time constant. View from the drivers seat: http://www.caricos.com/cars/n/nissan/2011_nissan_leaf/1024x768/20.html On Sat, Dec 14, 2013 at 1:19 PM, Peri Hartman <[email protected]> wrote: > There has to be a better solution. Making things safer is good. Trading > one safety aspect for another is dubious. I'm not sure what the right > approach is, and it's off topic for this list, but I'd like to contribute > some effort. If anyone has ideas, please send me personal email. > > Peri > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf > Of Michael Ross > Sent: 14 December, 2013 8:43 AM > To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List > Subject: Re: [EVDL] nissan leaf visibility issues > > To the extent that EV's are heavier they require more robust support > pillars. > > > On Fri, Dec 13, 2013 at 2:30 PM, zeke Yewdall <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Just about all new cars seem to have this problem. A combination of the > a > > pillar strength requirement along with the aerodynamic design. Rear > > visibility is poor in most of them too. I got in my old Subaru justy the > > other day and was struck by how good the visibility both to the front and > > rear was. Of course, it's probably almost as crashworthy as a GEM :) > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > On Dec 13, 2013, at 10:39 AM, "Peri Hartman" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > If you are considering a Leaf, be forewarned that the frontal > visibility > > is > > > poor. Today, probably for the third time, I came close to hitting a > > > pedestrian while turning left. My wife has had similar occurrences. > > > Somehow, the design of the front pillars obstructs an entire crosswalk > > while > > > turning left. > > > > > > Normally, I lean over to the right to get a second look, but I didn't > > this > > > time and -sure enough - a ped was in the crosswalk. Fortunately, as I > > > progressed through the turn, he became visible - directly in my path. > > > > > > This is a serious problem with Nissan seems uninterested in addressing. > > > > > > Peri > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > > > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > > > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA ( > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA ( > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > > > > > > -- > Put this question to yourself: should I use everyone else to attain > happiness, or should I help others gain happiness? > *Dalai Lama * > > Tell me what it is you plan to do > WIth your one wild and precious life? > Mary Oliver, "The summer day." > > To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. > Thomas A. > Edison<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html> > > A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. > *Warren Buffet* > > Michael E. Ross > (919) 550-2430 Land > (919) 576-0824 <https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones> Google > Phone > (919) 631-1451 Cell > (919) 513-0418 Desk > > [email protected] > <[email protected]> > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: > < > http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20131214/97a94 c07 > /attachment.htm> > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA > (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > > > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA ( > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > -- Put this question to yourself: should I use everyone else to attain happiness, or should I help others gain happiness? *Dalai Lama * Tell me what it is you plan to do WIth your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver, "The summer day." To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html> A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. *Warren Buffet* Michael E. Ross (919) 550-2430 Land (919) 576-0824 <https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones> Google Phone (919) 631-1451 Cell (919) 513-0418 Desk [email protected] <[email protected]> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20131214/9bc6 d2c2/attachment.htm> _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
