The influence of lateral visibility from the vehicle cabin on safety was evaluated by examining the differences in lane-change crashes of four-door and two-door body styles of the same vehicle models. These two vehicle styles were used because B-pillars on four-door models are farther forward, and thus nearer the fore-aft position of the driver. (Furthermore, the B-pillars on two-door models can be narrower, and some two-door models have no B-pillars at all). To control for driver differences between these two body styles, going-straight-ahead crashes were used for comparison. The analysis used 2000-2003 North Carolina crash data, and considered the crash experience of four-door and two-door body styles for the same 10 vehicles for model years 1995 and newer. The main finding is that four-door body styles are more likely to be involved in lane-change crashes than are two-door body styles of the same vehicle models. This finding suggests that lateral visibility out of the vehicle cabin affects safety. The full text of this document may be found at: http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/57451
Abstract