EVU XXVI 2017 – 12 Blind spot for bicycles performing a left turn

Blind spot for bicycles performing a left turn
Dipl.-Ing. Walter Niewöhner*, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Stefanie Ritter
DEKRA Automobil GmbH, Germany
*Corresponding author; e-mail: walter.niewoehner@dekra.com

Abstract

There are accidents where the cyclist intends to turn left to cross to the other side of the road. The motor
vehicle following behind then collides with this bike. In a more detailed assessment of these accidents,
their cause can be seen to be a combination of “blind spot” and “misinterpretation of the situation”. The
driver of the motor vehicle misinterprets an apparently clear traffic situation, whilst the cyclist at the
same time overlooks the motor vehicle. The cyclist looks back over the shoulder, but cannot see the
vehicle, which is in his blind spot. The driver of the car sees the cyclist looking over their shoulder and
assumes that the cyclist has seen him based on the bike’s line of movement. He starts to overtake. This
misunderstanding then leads to a crash. Road users, experts and lawyers should be made aware of such
situations and gain more detailed knowledge about the framework conditions leading to this type of
collision, which appears quite unnecessary. The situation described above does not occur very often on
the road. But it does show that a close look at the individual circumstances and a mutual understanding
of sequences of movements and of where potential limits of information intake are could help defuse a
critical traffic situation.

La lettura di questo articolo è riservata ai soli Soci EVU Italia

Autore	Dipl.-Ing. Walter Niewöhner*, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Stefanie Ritter DEKRA Automobil GmbH, Germany
Pubblicato il
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