I'm fairly convinced that the safety features that have been making the A pillars and C pillars of passenger cars thicker in recent years have heavily contributed to the trend of greater pedestrian deaths. Visibility on new cars is worse than it's ever been in my lifetime.
I agree, I drive a RHD VW Polo and have to lean forward and to the left so I can peer over the A pillar to check for oncoming traffic while taking right turns. That's not to mention the glaring reflections on the windscreen while driving under leafy trees on sunny afternoons.
I recently drove a Daihatsu Tanto [1], it has 2 thin a-pillars on each side, with glass in between. It looks strange but the visibility is so much better!
Certain types of intersections are especially deadly, where at normal speeds an approaching cyclist can be obscured by the a-pillar for some seconds.[2]
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 26.7 ms ] threadCertain types of intersections are especially deadly, where at normal speeds an approaching cyclist can be obscured by the a-pillar for some seconds.[2]
1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daihatsu_Tanto
2. http://singletrackworld.com/2018/01/collision-course-why-thi...
Just sit at an intersection and count sometime. It's terrifying.