Mazda 6....blind spot?

**Patty**

Gotta pick a new car soon (Yay :j @ getting shot of the StupidCmax) & the 6 is on my shortlist.

I test drove an estate version last week & found that there is a blindspot to the drivers right shoulder (yes, i do still turn my head for a second before pulling out......No,i know they don't teach you to drive like that now......yes i am over 40 )

Has anyone else found this? Or is it a *driving style* problem?


Be gentle......I am , as of last week, Saab-less

mattyprice4004

I can't comment on the '6, but my MG ZT-T also suffers from this - it's pretty hard to see behind you due to the thick pillars!

gilbert_and_sullivan

Typical of nearly all modern cars, some makers fit good useful door mirrors, other fit stylish (they think) but useless make up mirrors in huge plastic covers.

I don't mind thick B and C pillars because i only buy older cars with sensible A pillars and decent door mirrors, some of the modern A pillar designs are positively dangerous.

facade

Since I got older, I seem to have developed restricted mobility: I can't turn my head more than 90 degrees (I don't know if I ever could, maybe I was more flexible?) however, I changed my route home, and had to emerge from an angled junction and found that I couldn't actually see what was coming without leaning forwards in the seat and a lot of twisting, so I can't actually look out of the rear windows any more.

The solution is to use the "wrong" position, and attack the junction as if it were a T getting the car at 90 degrees to the road. A few years ago I would have questioned the driver in front's competence doing that, now I know the reason why.


The thick A pillars are a safety hazzard, the human brain is so good at filling in the field of view, that you don't notice there is a massive gap in your vision, your brain fills it in with empty tarmac, rather than an A pillar.

It isn't until you experience a near miss with something that you didn't see behind that pillar, that you really start to do the double & triple look before you pull out.

nobbysn*ts

facade wrote: »

Since I got older, I seem to have developed restricted mobility: I can't turn my head more than 90 degrees (I don't know if I ever could, maybe I was more flexible?) however, I changed my route home, and had to emerge from an angled junction and found that I couldn't actually see what was coming without leaning forwards in the seat and a lot of twisting, so I can't actually look out of the rear windows any more.

The solution is to use the "wrong" position, and attack the junction as if it were a T getting the car at 90 degrees to the road. A few years ago I would have questioned the driver in front's competence doing that, now I know the reason why.


The thick A pillars are a safety hazzard, the human brain is so good at filling in the field of view, that you don't notice there is a massive gap in your vision, your brain fills it in with empty tarmac, rather than an A pillar.

It isn't until you experience a near miss with something that you didn't see behind that pillar, that you really start to do the double & triple look before you pull out.

I've got a van, I always have to approach junctions at 90 degrees, i's surprising how many people behind seem to get confused, even though the indicators should give them a clue.

arcon5

yes, i do still turn my head for a second before pulling out......No,i know they don't teach you to drive like that now

Erm, i'm sure they do teach you to check blind spots still..

Johnmcl7

Which year of Mazda6 is it? I have a 2008-2012 Mazda 6 estate but haven't noticed any more of a blindspot than other cars (it does also come with an anti-blindsiding system but only active above 35mph or something) although I didn't test drive the new model.

John

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

nobbysn*ts wrote: »

I've got a van, I always have to approach junctions at 90 degrees, i's surprising how many people behind seem to get confused, even though the indicators should give them a clue.

If you've never driven a van with a solid bulkhead behind the driver's seat you wouldn't realise just how badly restricted the view is for the driver. I will go left to turn right at any sort of oblique T-junction. If there is an island, you have to accept that other drivers will get confused by this behaviour, I was baffled by it the first time I was conscious of a driver doing it.

Vans may drive like cars these days, but there are a number of problems that people don't perceive - mainly the difficulty of seeing anything but ahead and as others have mentioned the modern fashion for sloping front windows even makes forward visibility a nightmare. The Vito front pillar can hide a Mercedes E Class on a roundabout (near misses I have known that have taught me a lesson)

Strider590

Tends to be a problem with most 5 door cars these day, the drivers door is usually smaller than in the 3 door variant, which brings the door pillar further foward and creates a nasty blind spot. It wasn't really a problem before they starting building cars with huge door pillars (safety).

GwylimT

It's common with lots of cars, and yes, learner drivers are taught to check your blind spots they don't want you pulling into a motorcyclist after all.

JJ_Egan

My car purchase criteria changed in recent years to can i see well .
Blind spots on to many models and some are deadly with windscreen vision as pillars can block .Last and next purchase Citroen C3 Picasso based on vision .