The Geometric Proof of the "Blind Spot": Why Right-Hand Priority Cannot Be Safely Obeyed (Road Safety Briefing #2.2)
Year: 2026
Type: report
Abstract: This follow-up briefing provides the geometric and physical proof behind the core flaw of the "right-hand priority" rule. In left-hand-drive vehicles — especially trucks and commercial vans — the right-side pillars and the absence of rear-side windows create a total blind spot exactly where the rule demands the driver look. It becomes physically impossible to see the vehicle one is legally required to yield to. Holding such a driver at fault violates the legal principle "impossibilium nulla obligatio est" — there is no obligation to do the impossible. The briefing also examines the "drainage" logic of the rule: by giving way to vehicles entering rather than clearing an intersection, it blocks the exits and is a primary, measurable cause of urban gridlock. Part of a series of technical road-safety briefings addressed to the European Commission (DG MOVE), the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), and the European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN).
Author: Fadur, Daniel
Language: English
Topic: Traffic and Road Safety
Subfield: Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204047505