Some popular family 4x4 off road vehicles often used on the school run have 'dangerous ' blind spots, it was revealed today.
The A-pillars in these vehicles - the columms which seperate windscreens from the side windows- are so large they can obscure an entire group of children from the drivers view, a survey for the Autoglass company found.
Off-roaders with blind-spot problems include the Land Rover Discovery and Freelander, the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Hyundai Santa Fe.
Performed by MIRA, the (Motor Industry Research Association) the tests showed that the Jeep fared particularly badly with an A pillar blind spot measuring 14ft 9in. capable of hiding two motorcycles.
Autoglass said the Land Rover Freelander and Hyundai Santa Fe did not perform much better with both having blind spots of 13ft 6in capable of hiding up to ten children.
Nigel Doggett, managing director at Autoglass, said: " This has a detrimental effect on the drivers vision, with the creation of blind spots that pose a real threat to other road users."
He went on: "It is of particular concern considering the high volume of 4x4 vehicles used to pick children up from school, and parent-drivers must take extra care to ensure they've seen all of the hazards before setting off."
Why are 4x4 Chelsea Tractors being used for transporting the little darlings to school? they are never used off road but the parents can drive up and down the kerbs outside the schools.
I have heard these cars are now being called Mummies Vans.
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