Reversing danger rating table for popular vehicle types

Even rearview mirrors do not allow drivers to see everything behind.

A study of the blind spot distance of vehicles will give us specific numbers, thereby helping you be more aware when using and encountering these types of vehicles.

There are many tragic accidents where parents or relatives cannot see due to blind spots when reversing the car and cause accidents to their own children.

According to a report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a non-profit organization founded in 1959 by auto insurance companies, each year about 300 people are killed and 18,000 people are injured in back-up accidents.

Most of them are elderly or children (and sadly, 70% of the cases are caused by parents or relatives). The main cause is the blind zone. This is the area that the driver cannot see from the driver's seat, even if they look through the rearview mirror. There are many reasons that reduce the driver's vision (increase the blind zone) such as the design of the car (high seat, small windows...) or even the height of the driver!

Consumer Reports has measured hundreds of popular vehicles.

To help vehicle owners understand the size of their vehicle's blind spot, Consumer Reports measured hundreds of popular vehicles, with an average driver height of 5'7" and drivers as short as 5'4"!

The study showed an important result: The bigger the vehicle, the greater the danger, the larger the blind spot!

Additionally, the study found that small two-seat open-top cars (roadsters) and hatchbacks have the smallest blind zones. Pickup trucks have the longest (rear) blind zones.

It should be added that, among land vehicles, large trucks such as containers have the largest blind zone (often called No-Zone). Depending on the type of vehicle and its size, each type will have a different No-Zone.

The red area is the No-Zone of the container truck.

Typically, this zone will include 4 areas (front, back and sides of the truck), if it is the front the No-Zone will extend from 6m to 7.6m (25ft), while the rear can be up to 61m (200ft, equivalent to more than 15 car lengths), and the sides are even wider (all the way to the edge of the road).

That is the reason why you should avoid going near large container trucks because it will be extremely dangerous if the driver cannot notice your presence.