In July 2025, this weekly traffic safety column alerted readers to an increasing safety problem caused by forward blind zones. An update from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) provides additional information on this subject, more specifically about the increased danger to pedestrians by vehicles turning left. Thick and slanted A-pillars, the structural support on either side of the windshield that connects the roof to the body of the vehicle, bulky side mirrors and tall, long hoods all obstruct the driver’s view.

Vehicles with large driver-side blind zones are much more likely to strike crossing pedestrians while turning left than those with small blind zones, according to the new study from the IIHS. “These results clearly identify problematic aspects of vehicle design,” IIHS President David Harkey said.

He added that the challenge for automakers will be to find ways to address the problem without diminishing the protection vehicles provide to occupants in a crash.

In the current study, IIHS researchers revisited turning crash risk by examining the influence of blind zones and other design elements that affect the driver’s ability to see. “When a driver’s view is partially blocked, it’s easy for a person in the crosswalk to disappear from sight,” said Wen Hu, senior research transportation engineer at IIHS and lead author of the study. “That’s exactly the kind of situation that leads to turning crashes.”

An analysis of nearly 4,500 police-reported pedestrian crashes in seven states showed that large driver-side blind zones were associated with a 70% increase in the risk of left-turn crashes with pedestrians, compared with small blind zones. A similar analysis of 3,500 crashes showed that passenger-side blind zones had no significant impact on the risk of right-turn crashes.

Some of the same vehicle characteristics that increase the size of blind zones make vehicles safer in other ways, so optimizing both aspects of design will require careful consideration. Thick A-pillars, for example, contribute to roof strength, protecting occupants in rollover crashes, while long hoods are related to the larger crumple zones needed to manage the forces of frontal impacts.

“The driver’s ability to see is a fundamental element of safety that hasn’t received enough attention,” Harkey said. “That should change with our new ability to easily measure vehicle blind zones and assess their effects on crash risk.”

Meanwhile, pedestrians crossing a street at an intersection should be extra careful of vehicles turning left. You might be in the driver’s blind spot.