5 ms·

My mazda has absolutely HUGE a-pillars, which are, in my opinion, a far larger threat to pedestrians, than having a simply larger vehicle. Like you can fit a fa

My mazda has absolutely HUGE a-pillars, which are, in my opinion, a far larger threat to pedestrians, than having a simply larger vehicle. Like you can fit a family of 4 with a stroller in mine, I find myself leaning way forward to check that blind spot every time I turn right. And even that is second fiddle to people using their phones while driving, which is an absolute plague in general, not just for pedestrian safety, but safety overall.

albertgoeswoof 3y ago
Yet you still drive it
- jtriangle 3y ago
  Well yeah, I still owe like 15k on it...
  - majewsky 3y ago
    I never owned a car, or a driver's license for that matter, so this is an honest question: Did you not realize this flaw during the test drive?
    - DiggyJohnson 3y ago
      It may not be immediately obvious on a test drive, and it's not a problem unique to the Mazda.
addicted 3y ago
There’s a lot of evidence that larger vehicles are massive threats to pedestrians. I’m not sure what the evidence for huge A-pillars as a threat is, but if it’s worse than larger vehicles it does not in any way change the fact that larger vehicles are indeed a massive threat.
- datameta 3y ago
  Quite literally in part due to mass.
- jtriangle 3y ago
  Huge A-pillars are a threat because of the blind spot they create, specifically while turning right. All roof pillars have increased in size in order for the occupants to survive rollover crashes, but the side effect is blind spots. Further compounded by interior trim containing airbags and audio gear.
  - xethos 3y ago
    > All roof pillars have increased in size in order for the occupants to survive rollover crashes And they've had to get bigger to be stronger, and need to be stronger due to increased size and weight of modern vehicles. I'm not saying it's not an issue. But I am saying "Thanks, Obama" for the CAFE regulations passed under him that pushed OEMs to make larger and larger vehicles - because a larger footprint leads to less stringent fuel consumption requirements.
    - gamblor956 3y ago
      Nice try there with the FUD. The CAFE regulations favoring trucks and SUVs have been around since the 1970s. The Obama era regulations extended those rules to heavy-duty trucks and commercial vehicles, which were not previously subject to fuel economy rules.
      - xethos 3y ago
        Note that I specifically called out footprint From [0] (first) or wikipedia [1] (second), if you prefer. From mobile, so I hope you'll pardon any formatting issues > In 2006, CAFE altered the formula for its 2011 fuel economy targets, by calculating a vehicle’s “footprint”, which is the vehicle’s wheelbase multiplied by its wheel track. The footprint is expressed in square feet, and calculating this value is probably the most transparent part of the regulations. Fuel economy targets are a function of a vehicle’s footprint; the smaller the footprint, the tougher the standards are. A car such as the Honda Fit, with its footprint of 40 square feet, has to achieve 61 mpg CAFE, or 43 mpg IRL by 2025 to comply with regulations. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a full-size truck like the Ford F-150, with a footprint of 75 square feet, only needs to hit 30 mpg CAFE, or 23 mpg IRL, by the same timeframe. > Starting in 2011, the CAFE standards are newly expressed as mathematical functions depending on vehicle footprint, a measure of vehicle size determined by multiplying the vehicle's wheelbase by its average track width. A complicated 2011 mathematical formula was replaced starting in 2012 with a simpler inverse-linear formula with cutoff values.[9] CAFE footprint requirements are set up such that a vehicle with a larger footprint has a lower fuel economy requirement than a vehicle with a smaller footprint [0] https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/how-cafe-killed-compact-trucks-and-station-wagons/ https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/how-cafe-killed-co... [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_average_fuel_economy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_average_fuel_econo...
Aaronstotle 3y ago
Yeah, I got a CX-5 last year and the biggest complaint is the A-pillar blind spot in the car is really huge.
adrianN 3y ago
Leaning forward to check the blind spot it’s how my driving instructor taught me to turn in a ca 2000 VW Golf.

albertgoeswoof 3y ago

Yet you still drive it

jtriangle 3y ago
Well yeah, I still owe like 15k on it...
- majewsky 3y ago
  I never owned a car, or a driver's license for that matter, so this is an honest question: Did you not realize this flaw during the test drive?
  - DiggyJohnson 3y ago
    It may not be immediately obvious on a test drive, and it's not a problem unique to the Mazda.

addicted 3y ago

There’s a lot of evidence that larger vehicles are massive threats to pedestrians. I’m not sure what the evidence for huge A-pillars as a threat is, but if it’s worse than larger vehicles it does not in any way change the fact that larger vehicles are indeed a massive threat.

datameta 3y ago
Quite literally in part due to mass.
jtriangle 3y ago
Huge A-pillars are a threat because of the blind spot they create, specifically while turning right. All roof pillars have increased in size in order for the occupants to survive rollover crashes, but the side effect is blind spots. Further compounded by interior trim containing airbags and audio gear.
- xethos 3y ago
  > All roof pillars have increased in size in order for the occupants to survive rollover crashes And they've had to get bigger to be stronger, and need to be stronger due to increased size and weight of modern vehicles. I'm not saying it's not an issue. But I am saying "Thanks, Obama" for the CAFE regulations passed under him that pushed OEMs to make larger and larger vehicles - because a larger footprint leads to less stringent fuel consumption requirements.
  - gamblor956 3y ago
    Nice try there with the FUD. The CAFE regulations favoring trucks and SUVs have been around since the 1970s. The Obama era regulations extended those rules to heavy-duty trucks and commercial vehicles, which were not previously subject to fuel economy rules.
    - xethos 3y ago
      Note that I specifically called out footprint From [0] (first) or wikipedia [1] (second), if you prefer. From mobile, so I hope you'll pardon any formatting issues > In 2006, CAFE altered the formula for its 2011 fuel economy targets, by calculating a vehicle’s “footprint”, which is the vehicle’s wheelbase multiplied by its wheel track. The footprint is expressed in square feet, and calculating this value is probably the most transparent part of the regulations. Fuel economy targets are a function of a vehicle’s footprint; the smaller the footprint, the tougher the standards are. A car such as the Honda Fit, with its footprint of 40 square feet, has to achieve 61 mpg CAFE, or 43 mpg IRL by 2025 to comply with regulations. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a full-size truck like the Ford F-150, with a footprint of 75 square feet, only needs to hit 30 mpg CAFE, or 23 mpg IRL, by the same timeframe. > Starting in 2011, the CAFE standards are newly expressed as mathematical functions depending on vehicle footprint, a measure of vehicle size determined by multiplying the vehicle's wheelbase by its average track width. A complicated 2011 mathematical formula was replaced starting in 2012 with a simpler inverse-linear formula with cutoff values.[9] CAFE footprint requirements are set up such that a vehicle with a larger footprint has a lower fuel economy requirement than a vehicle with a smaller footprint [0] https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/how-cafe-killed-compact-trucks-and-station-wagons/ https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/how-cafe-killed-co... [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_average_fuel_economy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_average_fuel_econo...

Aaronstotle 3y ago

Yeah, I got a CX-5 last year and the biggest complaint is the A-pillar blind spot in the car is really huge.

adrianN 3y ago

Leaning forward to check the blind spot it’s how my driving instructor taught me to turn in a ca 2000 VW Golf.