It sounds like a desperate excuse for failing eyesight - "Is it just me, or are cars these days getting harder to see out of?" But, unlike terrible toupees and cosmetic surgery catastrophes, these words aren't a last-ditch denial of the signs of ageing.

The worst offenders are 4x4's and MPV's, with the Jeep Cherokee recording the largest blind spot of the 20 cars tested. The smallest was that of the Audi A4 in which only 30cm was obscured.

As modern cars are designed to be more structurally secure, A pillars have shifted and become wider to support the weight of a heavier frame. Highlighting the sharp rise in A-spot width over the past few years, the research found that a 1998 Ford Fiesta has an A-spot of 1.2m - the A-spot of the 2006 model is double that.

Nigel Doggett, MD of Autoglass and the guy who commissioned the report, claims that a blind spot has been created of which thousands of motorists simply aren't aware.

"It's crucial for drivers to check that nothing is hidden from view behind the A pillars, both for their own safety and for that of other road users," he says.

Autoglass has recommended that drivers check the size of their car's A-spot and be vigilant on the road for hazards that might be hidden by the obstruction - particularly pedestrians and cyclists.

Roadsafe, the safety campaign group, is calling for the British government to create an A-spot task force to conduct further research and educate drivers and driving instructors about the issue.

Roadsafe director Adrian Walsh said the task force would "call together experts in the field on the engineering and human-behaviour side". That would include figures from the motor industry and government agencies, including the Driving Standards Agency.

Two months of research was undertaken by the MIRA, whose measurements were based on a distance between car and object of 23m - the stopping gap required when travelling at 50km/h.

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