Blind spot (vehicle)

Blind spot (vehicle)

A blind spot in a vehicle is an area around the vehicle that cannot be directly observed by the driver while at the controls, under existing circumstances.[1] Blind spots exist in a wide range of vehicles: cars, trucks, motorboats and aircraft.

Contents

Motor vehicles

The blue car's driver sees the green car through his mirrors but cannot see the red car without turning to check his blind spot.

As one is driving an automobile, blind spots are the areas of the road that cannot be seen while looking forward or through either the rear-view or side mirrors. The most common are the rear quarter blind spots, areas towards the rear of the vehicle on both sides. Vehicles in the adjacent lanes of the road that fall into these blind spots may not be visible using only the car's mirrors. Rear quarter blind spots can be:

  • checked by turning one's head briefly (risking rear-end collisions),
  • eliminated by reducing overlap between side and rear-view mirrors, or
  • reduced by installing mirrors with larger fields-of-view.

Other areas that are sometimes called blind spots are those that are too low to see behind, in front, or to the sides of a vehicle, especially those with a high seatinpot.[2]

Motorboats

A blind spot in a (large) motorboat

Blind spots also exist in front of boats.[3] When the boat accelerates, the bow rises, increasing the size of the blind spot. Large vessels can have up to several hundreds of meters of blind spot. To address this, cameras are sometimes placed in the front of the vessel to cover the missing field of view.

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Blind spot (automobile) — Blind spots, in the context of driving an automobile, are the areas of the road that cannot be seen while looking forward or through either the rear view or side mirrors. Blind spots can be eliminated by overlapping side and rear view mirrors, or …   Wikipedia

  • Blind Spot Information System — BLIS, an acronym for Blind Spot Information System , is a system of protection against collisions in the vehicle blind spot developed by Volvo.This system was first introduced in the S80 sedan. This system gives the driver a visible alert when… …   Wikipedia

  • Blind spot monitor — A blind spot monitor is a vehicle based sensor system that detects other vehicles located to the driver’s side and rear. Warnings can be visual or audible. Increased warnings indicate potentially hazardous lane changes. [… …   Wikipedia

  • blind spot — 1. Anat. a small area on the retina that is insensitive to light due to the interruption, where the optic nerve joins the retina, of the normal pattern of light sensitive rods and cones. See diag. under eye. 2. an area or subject about which one… …   Universalium

  • blind spot — An area not visible from the driver s seat. It is usually the area behind the rear quarter and not visible in the mirrors. When approaching another vehicle in a lane beside you, avoid being in its blind spot. Also do a shoulder check before… …   Dictionary of automotive terms

  • blind spot — /ˈblaɪnd spɒt/ (say bluynd spot) noun 1. Anatomy a small area on the retina, insensitive to light, at which the optic nerve leaves the eye. 2. a matter about which one is ignorant, unintelligent, or prejudiced, despite knowledge of related things …  

  • blind — adj., v., n., & adv. adj. 1 lacking the power of sight. 2 a without foresight, discernment, intellectual perception, or adequate information (blind effort). b (often foll. by to) unwilling or unable to appreciate (a factor, circumstance, etc.)… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Emergency vehicle equipment — is the equipment fitted to, or carried by, an emergency vehicle, which is additional to any equipment such as headlights, steering wheels or windshield/windscreens that a standard non emergency vehicle is fitted with.Visual warning… …   Wikipedia

  • Driver visibility — In transport, driver visibility is the maximum distance at which the driver of a vehicle can see and identify prominent objects around the vehicle.[1] Visibility is primarily determined by weather conditions (see visibility) and by a vehicle s… …   Wikipedia

  • Criticism of sport utility vehicles — A Ford Excursion SUV next to a Toyota Camry …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”