Not too long ago, I was very close to having a "constant bearing, decreasing range" (CBDR) accident that the article is talking about.
I failed to slow down adequately to a T-junction and almost drove straight in front of a truck, despite having looked in that direction twice before entering the intersection.
I'm pretty sure my vision was (partially) occluded by the corner pillar and/or a snow pile on the side of the road and therefore tricking my brain exactly as the article describes.
All it takes is a change in speed to avoid this accident. I now take extra caution in these situations, especially T-junctions or 4-way intersections without traffic lights.
I drive a Honda Element. The A-pillars are huge and cover a ridiculous percent of the field of view. "Constant bearing, decreasing range" ought to be printed on the side mirrors, or perhaps it should have been named the "Honda CBDR". (Note: I love the car, this is just one of it's few less-than-perfect attributes.)
On certain left-curving roads it's possible to drive 10 - 15 seconds being unable to see anything directly in front of you.
I compensate by bobbing and weaving to look around the A-pillar at every intersection or when passing. Maybe it even makes me a safer driver because there's no illusion - I know there's a lot I can't see so drive accordingly.
My biggest fear of driving a modern car is pedestrians and cyclists hiding in the think A pillar when turning. I am also doing the bob and weave like a prize boxer to make sure things don't escape my vision. I'd much rather run into another car than a pedestrian since at least vehicle collisions are a fair fight.
I'm so much more comfortable when I drive my vintage car. The greenhouse is massive, so you can see everything without even turning your head. I also drive that car much more consciously since it requires real effort. The trade off is if I ever run into anything I'm under no illusions about the safety it provides (which is none)
I can't wait for A pillars that are screens so they become invisible.
> All it takes is a change in speed to avoid this accident.
Together with moving your head slightly both ways to try to look from additional angles around both sides of the pillar.
Although rarer, CBDR can occur even when reducing speed if the other vehicle also happens to reduce his speed at the same time, which can be surprisingly common on intersections where priority is unclear or there's a curve leading to it. Happened to me on a T junction on a mountain road, luckily we were at low speed and (surprise!) stopped face to face. As the article suggests: "Move your head — or you’re dead". The other vehicle speed can't vary as fast as you peeking left and right around the pillar.
I failed to slow down adequately to a T-junction and almost drove straight in front of a truck, despite having looked in that direction twice before entering the intersection.
I'm pretty sure my vision was (partially) occluded by the corner pillar and/or a snow pile on the side of the road and therefore tricking my brain exactly as the article describes.
All it takes is a change in speed to avoid this accident. I now take extra caution in these situations, especially T-junctions or 4-way intersections without traffic lights.