Several Dutch studies on the issues related to blind spots in the field of vision of truck drivers in relation to accidents involving small two-wheeled vehicle occupants were conducted. In this study statistical data was sought in other European countries to establish an impression in what manner these issues exist there as well. A quick scan into the availability of information yielded a limited number of countries providing data. For countries where data were available, it was mostly limited to high abstract level data. Based on the assumption similar mechanisms in traffic will lead to similar accident rates and ratios, there is some indication the problems at hand in The Netherlands concerning blind spot related accidents play a similar role in Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Sweden shows an unexplained low in accident rates with respect to goods vehicles for small two-wheeled vehicle occupants. The data available for Austria, France, and Europe as a whole were too limited to be conclusive. (Author/publisher)
Abstract