NHTSA Complaint #10705901 — 2012 NISSAN LEAF

SERIOUS SAFETY DEFECT IN MANY MODERN CARS - HUGE WINDOW PILLAR BLOCKAGE!!! I AM A RETIRED ENGINEER AFTER ALMOST 34 YEARS OF FEDERAL SERVICE FOR THE US ARMY MOSTLY AT FORT MONMOUTH NJ. ABOUT A YEAR AGO I ALMOST HIT A PEDESTRIAN WHO WAS WALKING VERY CLOSE TO THE FRONT LEFT OF MY CAR AT NIGHT. YESTERDAY I LOOKED LEFT BUT DID NOT SEE A LARGE BLACK SUV TRANSITING FROM MY RIGHT IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. I LOOKED LEFT AND THEN STARTED TO SLOWLY TURN LEFT AS I LOOKED RIGHT AGAIN AND WOW...IT PASSED RIGHT IN FRONT! TO MY PERSPECTIVE, IT LITERALLY CAME OUT OF NOWHERE!!! BOTH OF THESE INCIDENTS WERE DUE TO ME LOOKING QUICKLY, NOT DWELLING FOR A COUPLE SECONDS. A VEHICLE OR PERSON MUST BE IN JUST THE RIGHT SPOT AND TRAVELING SLOWLY, SO IT HAPPENS ONLY ABOUT ONCE A YEAR. I MEASURED THE FRONT WINDSHIELD PILLAR SUPPORT WIDTH OF ABOUT 30 CARS IN A PARKING LOT. MOST OLD CARS AND SOME MODERN ONES HAVE SMALL WINDOW PILLAR BLOCKAGE OF 4 TO 5 INCHES. HOWEVER MANY MODERN CARS HAVE WINDOW PILLAR BLOCKAGES OF 5 TO 6 INCHES, HIDING MUCH VIEW! THE NISSAN LEAF HAS THE WORST ABOUT 5.5 INCHES UP HIGH, BUT A PHENOMENAL 8 INCHES AT SIDE MIRROR LEVEL. UNFORTUNATELY THIS IS THE HEIGHT OF MY EYES IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT! IT BLOCKS THE WIDTH OF A WHOLE CAR WHEN THE CAR IS ONLY A CAR LANE AWAY AND AT JUST THE RIGHT ANGLE! SINCE THE SUV WAS BLACK, MY EYES WERE TRANSITING LEFT TO RIGHT AND BACK IN ABOUT A SECOND AND THE SUV WAS GOING VERY SLOW TO TURN LEFT IN FRONT OF ME, I SAW NOTHING. FORTUNATELY I WAS JUST STARTING TO SLOWLY PULL OUT WHEN I LOOKED RIGHT AGAIN AS IT MAGICALLY APPEARED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, SO I STOPPED ABRUPTLY AND AVOIDED AN ACCIDENT! NHTSA SHOULD ISSUE REGULATIONS THAT REQUIRE VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS TO RETURN TO THE SMALL WINDOW PILLAR SUPPORT WIDTHS OF THE PAST DECADES. THANK YOU [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR