The context of this article is generally unrelated to motorcycle safety; however, the lead up to the article brings to light some issues associated with motorcycle accidents. Unless interested in the entire topic, my suggestion is to stop reading after the first several paragraphs. If the information obtained regarding motorist's dismissal of motorcycles prevents one accident, then it was worth passing along. http://weaponsman.com/?p=29980

Be safe.

 

Good Read - Thanks for sharing!

 

Smidsy

 

Magicians understand this very well.

 

They all say this because they don't know how to look.

 

Even my GF pulled out in front of an old dude on a sport bike a few months ago, and she considers herself an extremely defensive driver. Luckily the rider didn't hit her and wasn't hurt, but she will never forget the event, and it runs through her head daily.
I ride like everyone can see me and they're just waiting till I get close so they can do something to me. 48 years riding here





BOB

 

They can't see us, until they stop looking at their phones. And then there's still no guarantee...maybe 66% they will.

 

There's actually much more to visual cognition than this article discusses.

Two KEY, and very simplified, points:

1. When you look directly at something, only a relatively small area around it is in focus. This "cone" of focus is only a few degrees wide. Outside of that angle, other objects are more and more blurry.

2. If you sit in your chair (or your car) and sweep your head smoothly across the scene, and then do it again and pay attention to the fact that although your head is moving smoothly, your eyes are going across the scene in a series of jumps. This is natural, it is automatic, it's the way your brain works, and you cannot, in any way, change it.

Each "jump" that your eyes take as you sweep your view across the intersection is where your view is in focus. Everything in between those jumps is more or less blurry. If there's a motorcycle in between the visual jumps, it will be blurred, and it might not register in the driver's brain. It's not because the driver is drunk, or texting, or getting road head, or is otherwise distracted. It's because of how the brain works.

In the context of seeing a bike, it does emphasize why "looking twice" for anything is so important. If the bike was in the blurry spot the first time you look, there's a better chance it won't be the second time you look.

Important to know, no matter what you're driving/riding.

 

Over the many years I've ridden I've been in probably thousands of situations where the other guy didn't see me. Oddly enough, this has included not a few guys on motorcycles. Yes, it's not just car and truck drivers that don't see us, we sometimes don't see each other.


My biggest problem with motorcycle accidents is that when they are discussed several major facts are completely ignored. For decades the number of motorcycle crashes that were single vehicle crashes has hovered right around 50%. A higher % of motorcycle riders are impaired by booze/drugs than car drivers. Motorcycle riders are out there with a much higher blood alcohol level than the car drivers. Excessive speed and low skill levels contribute to a high percentage of motorcycle crashes.


Guess what guys - if we worked at improving our skills, kept the booze and drugs for after the ride, and started riding in a way that eliminated the single vehicle wrecks we would start seeing a lot fewer motorcycle wrecks of all types, to include the "I didn't see him" wrecks.


Before you start pissing in my beer, I know that a lot of good, sober riders get killed or injured out there. My remarks are for the motorcycle community as a whole and if you try to deny them you've got your head buried in the sand.


We can keep blaming the other guy but we share a whole lot of the blame ourselves.

 

In the past 45(+/-) yrs I've had two major crashes, both caused by cager turning left in front of me, both times excuse was "I didn't see the bike". Both times the bike was totalled, but fortunately both times I was able to walk away.