MOTORING organisations estimate that more than two thirds of all accidents happen at junctions.

So, with that in mind, they have given a cautious welcome to a gadget being developed by Nissan.

Using two front bumper-mounted mini-cameras, the system offers drivers a view round blind corners and promises to eliminate the uncertainty experienced when drivers emerge from tight junctions or from driveways on to busy streets.

Connected to a dashboard monitor to offer a clear view of right and left well ahead of the junction, the system can also alert drivers to approaching vehicles and pedestrians, with a red warning light.

The new technology will initially be tested in the autumn by the car-maker in Japan, as part of a Japanese ministry of transport safety project.

But a Nissan spokesman said it was likely it could be fitted to cars made at the flagship Sunderland car plant - Europe's most efficient - before too long.

"There's no date on it yet, but it's likely to become available because it's affordable technology."

The Wearside plant produces more than 340,000 cars each year, churning out Almeras, Primeras and the top-selling Micra. But a spokeswoman for the AA, Britain's biggest motoring organisation, said it had concerns about whether drivers could come to rely too much on the gadget and forget to use their own eyes.

"It seems quite good in theory, because junction accidents are a concern," she said, adding that about 70 per cent of all accidents occur at junctions.

"But we are concerned about how the driver makes use of the technology - will it become a help or a hindrance?"

She said there was a danger that any in-car screen could become a distraction, or that drivers could be lulled into a false sense of security by relying on it too much.

Luxury car makers have examined similar ways of helping drivers cut their blind spots. Jaguar is looking at a method of projecting warning messages on to the inside of the windscreen.

Whatever next, drivers may well ask - eyes in the back of your head?

Or will a good old-fashioned rear view mirror continue to do the trick