Abstract
Amendments of UN Regulation No.46 and a new proposal (ISO16505) are being prepared in order to extend the application of Camera Monitoring Systems (CMS) as alternatives to mandatory and optional mirrors. CMS is expected to improve driver's direct front field of view since blind spots created by outside mirrors are eliminated. This study evaluates the positive effect of CMS on the forward field of view. Vehicles with and without outside mirrors were compared by utilizing time-series simulations of blind spots in the vehicle's front field of view. The simulation conditions were selected from the results of accident analyses of pedestrian-vehicle accidents because improving the forward field of view should increase detectability of small objects, such as pedestrians. In the visibility simulation, the visual-obstruction rate was defined using the area of blind spots where pedestrians would be obscured. This paper demonstrated that vehicles without outside mirrors were able to reduce that rate almost by half at 0.5 meters and 1.0 meters above ground level compared to vehicles with outside mirrors.
KEYWORDS – Driver's field of view; Outside mirrors; Camera monitoring systems (CMS); Blind spots; Intersection accidents