Motorcycle accidents - Why we're not always seen

[bushrat]

An extremely interesting discussion took place today on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) program "Quirks and Quarks", concerning research by Prof. Peter Chapman, of the University of Nottingham (England), into "WHY" motorcycles get involved in accidents with other vehicles and apparently are not always SEEN. Interestingly enough, the current research seems to show that, in fact, we ARE seen, but that cagers almost instantly FORGET what they have just seen, and drive on without remembering, thus causing accidents. Seem weird? Perhaps. You can follow the discussion on the podcast at this site (the appropriate piece begins at minute 18:20 of a longer tape, and runs until 26:45 - about 8 and 1/2 minutes of very compelling info)

http://21393.mc.tritondigital.com/CB...2-20190927.mp3

Bottom line of Prof. Chapman's research (if I may be so bold) seems to be that other drivers do see us, but in the rapid decision making process of looking around to judge other traffic and whether to move off or not, they often quickly forget or do not retain the active memory of what they have just seen. That is, these other drivers almost instantaneously FORGET; seems short term visual memory is extremely short and quickly evaporates, especially where smaller vehicles like bicycles and motorcycles are involved. Experiments show that this phenomenon is less likely when the other vehicle is another car, a truck or bus. Size is important; (possibly our larger, wider Spyders may be a benefit to us).

One way to help protect yourself is to appear as large as possible, to try to engage eye contact with the operator of the other vehicle in order to help "register" your presence more indelibly in their memory. Also be vigilant, ready to brake or take other evasive action. The Prof. also encourages the operators of cages to say "bike" to themselves when they see an approaching bike. The theory goes that "see bike - say bike" helps to reinforce short-term visual memory so that it is not immediately lost. Verbal recognition supplements visual memory.

I found the discussion extremely interesting, and pass it along for others who may be curious about the "Why don't they see us when we're right in front of their eyes?" syndrome. It seems they may indeed have seen us, but that the human brain tends to almost instantly let go of (or forget) such recent knowledge as the seconds pass. Therefore, being SEEN may not simply be the crucial part as much as being REMEMBERED. Anything we can do to help other drivers accomplish both mental tasks (seeing and also recalling) may well be the difference in whether they avoid colliding with us, or not.

Cheers all, and ryde safe!!!

[WisconsinDavid]

For the very reasons you stated, never feel you have made "eye contact" with anyone. Even when you feel you have, people act like they didn't know you were there. Always ride like no one sees you and leave yourself as many outs as you can. Make yourself visible, but ride like you are always invisible.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I'm sure you have seen " Fire Trucks " and heard them to..... people hit them far too often ….. The Prof. needs to update His theory …. add in " cell phones " … " texting " etc. you get the picture ….. jmho …. Mike

[2dogs]

At intersections where a vehicle has stopped and about to pull out, or cross my lane, I try to keep at least one eye on that vehicles front wheel. It is more reliable in indicating what that vehicle is about to do. I do my best to keep my other eye open for a safe escape route. It's just awfully dam busy out there particularly at 5:00 PM on Fridays. Yep, just because you have eye contact with the driver of a vehicle it doesn't mean that driver has seen you.

[RICZ]

I would love to have a one on one with Prof. Chapman, whom I think is all wet, based on my expensive experience on the road on 2, 3 or 4 wheels.
+ Eye contact is BS! I can provide several examples where that worked against me and a long time ago I adopted a policy of NO EYE CONTACT and that has served me well.
+ I have good reason to believe that people drive according to the possibility of injury to themselves ; they fear vehicles larger than theirs and disregard the smaller ones. Thus, the prof's theory of memory and forgetting has IMO a big hole in it.
+ Depth reception, or lack of it dials heavily into MC crashes. If there is only one tail light, many have no concept of the distance it is from them. About 20% of women and a smaller % of men have this eye condition. I always add additional lighting to the rear of my bikes - as far apart as possible, just for this reason.
+ Yes, being seen is important and extra lights on a bike's front end greatly help in that department. Us Spyder owners have it easy, we can add fog lights and additional running lights. My F3L has 8 lights in total up front. 2 wheelers can add two running lights low and wide for that safety triangle that railroads adopted decades ago.
+ Colors definitely help to be seen; High viz jacket, white helmet and a bike with color (in that order) will aid in being conspicuous.
+ Since most MC/car crashes are caused by a left turning car, as you approach an intersection, zig-zag from side to side - that gets their attention.
Now, send that Prof. Chapman, I have a few words.

[dginoregon]

Exactly, I never even look at the driver, I look at there wheels, tells you what you need to know. If the wheels start to move, I'm looking for an escape, usually just slowing down works. Just my 2 cents and I owe a dime

[Chupaca]

Something I have always believed in adding that many believe that motorcycles can stop on a dime. The other added fact is that it is the standard excuse used by all involved in these accidents along with "he came outta nowhere" I always say...." trust no one to do the right thing" ... as so many have looked right at me at an intersection and pulling right in anyway...after pausing ....

[JayBros]

I have experienced the same thing as Gene, both cars pulling out into intersections after looking me right in the eye as well as making left turns in front of me. Listening to the podcast I was struck by the professors most damning words, "we think." I majored in psychology in my undergraduate studies and my big complaint has always been that psychologists are unable to differentiate between what they know and what they think they know.

[pieman9155]

i may i was in circle at 15mpg and a car pull out in front of me on my motorcycle a 2017 hd broke my arm . had arm problems shifting .so i got a spyder glad i did

[bikerbillone]

Good stuff here, especially, 'watch the wheels of the vehicle pulling out from a side road', ride as defensively as you possibly can, even then, that's not enough. People run into big yellow school buses every day. Driver distraction is the enemy.....

[duke50]

I like to make eye contact will all vehicles, but its impossible when they have dark tinted glass. They're should be a law against it!

[SpyderConvert]

I had always installed a headlight modulator on my two wheelers. If I wanted to be certain that I was seen, all I had to do was switch to high beam. I never trusted that that was a 100% guarantee, but it did increase my odds of accident avoidance. Unfortunately, unless you own an F3, there are no modulators that will work on an RT. I wonder if a modulator could somehow be hooked up to the fog lights on an RT???????

[cruisinTX]

I have my doubts about this so-called research indicating people forget they just saw you. I am more likely to buy into the theories about "situational blindness" where they may look right at you but the image does not register because they are scanning for more commonly seen vehicles or (and this is the most likely) they are distracted by something and you just don't register in the mind. Take a look at the video about situational blindness; it makes the most sense as to why distracted driving, especially due to cell phones use, is now the leading cause of traffic accidents. This is why I believe even hands-free cell phone use should be banned 100%. When your mind is focused on something else, it is very easy to overlook obvious things right in front of you, from motorcycles, to fire trucks to school busses and even a gorilla walking through a basketball game regardless of whether you are looking straight ahead or down at a phone.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scien...ness-17339778/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inattentional_blindness

[bushrat]

..... I am more likely to buy into the theories about "situational blindness" where they may look right at you but the image does not register because they are scanning for more commonly seen vehicles or (and this is the most likely) they are distracted by something and you just don't register in the mind....

Thanks, cruisinTX. And equally to all who have responded and participated in the debate...

While I'm responsible for posting this reference to Prof. Chapman's research, I have always heretofore been more attracted to the 'situational blindness' school of thought. I do, however, find it interesting to learn of the suggestion that the human brain may be wired to quickly forget or ignore things the eyes have just 'seen'. If so, it simply reinforces that we need to do more than just "be seen" in order to remain safe and unharmed. That, I believe, is the gist of the other comments from members here, who relate their experiences and efforts at avoiding collisions with other vehicles which nonchalantly jump into our paths without any seeming care, concern or warning. It's an inherently dangerous world out there. Whether or not we may agree with Prof. Chapman, he is at least attempting to explore the reasons 'why' it is such, and to suggest ways to try to improve our chances of survival. I give him credit and thanks for that.

[2dogs]

I was a passenger in a pickup with an acquaintance a number of years ago when he started to pull out from a stop intersection (T intersection) into the path of an oncoming motorcycle. I told (yelled) for him to STOP! He did and I ask him, "didn't you see that bike?" His answer was "yes." I know he saw it because we both looked at it but for some reason it didn't register in his mind. I know he was thinking of something else. I call it "situational unawareness," in other words, head in a$$. My friend was not and is not a motorcycle rider. I wonder what the proportion of vehicle drivers who are not motorcycle owners, that TC motorcycles at intersections, is to the number of vehicle drivers who are motorcycle riders? It's been my belief for a long time that motorcycle owners are safer and better drivers than those who are not motorcycle owners. Am I right or am I wrong?

[Elembytes]

I totally agree with some others. It’s in-attention to driving. Cell phones are the biggest pain in the rear end when it comes to our society. I often wonder if the inventors even thought of how this would affect culture in general?

When you ride, whether it be on a Spyder or two-wheeler, you have to be defensive and assume NO ONE see’s you. You have to be proactive and watch everything.

Better to waste a few seconds and arrive alive then otherwise.

Ride Safe indeed!

[Wahrsuul]

Another opinion of why we aren't seen - seems this guy is referring to bicycles more that motorcycles, but...

What an RAF pilot can teach us about being safe on the road

By Andreas on 01/11/2012 in Safe cycling in London

“Sorry mate, I didn’t see you”. Is a catchphrase used by drivers up and down the country. Is this a driver being careless and dangerous or did the driver genuinely not see you?

According to a report by John Sullivan of the RAF, the answer may have important repercussions for the way we train drivers and how as cyclists we stay safe on the roads.

John Sullivan is a Royal Air Force pilot with over 4,000 flight hours in his career, and a keen cyclist. He is a crash investigator and has contributed to multiple reports. Fighter pilots have to cope with speeds of over 1000 mph. Any crashes are closely analysed to extract lessons that can be of use.

Our eyes were not designed for driving. We are the result of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. Our eyes, and the way that our brain processes the images that they receive, are very well suited to creeping up on unsuspecting antelopes and spotting threats such as sabre-toothed tigers.

These threats are largely gone and they’ve been replaced by vehicles traveling towards us at high speeds. This, we’ve not yet adapted to deal with.

Why?

Light enters our eyes and falls upon the retina. It is then converted into electrical impulses, that the brain perceives as images. Only a small part of your retina, the center bit called the fovea, can generate a high-resolution image. This is why we need to look directly at something, to see detail.

The rest of the retina lacks detail but it contributes by adding the peripheral vision. However, a mere 20 degrees away from your sight line, your visual acuity is about 1/10th of what it is at the center.

Try this scary test to see quite how much detail you lose in your peripheral vision
1.Stand 10 meters away from a car.
2.Move your eyes and look just one car’s width to the right or left of that car.
3.Without moving where you eyes are now looking, try and read the number plate of the car.
4.Try the test again from 5m.
The test shows you quite how little detail you are able to truly capture from the side of your eyes.

That’s not to say that we cannot see something in our peripheral vision – of course we can. As you approach a roundabout, you would be hard pressed not to see a huge lorry bearing down upon you, even out of the corner of your eye – obviously, the bigger the object, the more likely we are to see it. But would you see a motorbike, or a cyclist?

To have a good chance of seeing an object on a collision course, we need to move our eyes, and probably head, to bring the object into the center of our vision – so that we can use our high-resolution vision of our fovea to resolve the detail.

Here’s when things get really interesting

When you move your head and eyes to scan a scene, your eyes are incapable of moving smoothly across it and seeing everything. Instead, you see in the image in a series of very quick jumps (called saccades) with very short pauses (called fixations) and it is only during the pauses that an image is processed.

Your brain fills in the gaps with a combination of peripheral vision and an assumption that what is in the gaps must be the same as what you see during the pauses.

This might sound crazy, but your brain actually blocks the image that is being received while your eyes are moving. This is why you do not see the sort of blurred image, that you see when you look sideways out of a train window.

The only exception to this, is if you are tracking a moving object.

Another test to try. If you are not convinced, try this test.

1.Look in a mirror.
2.Look repeatedly from your right eye to your left eye.
3.Can you see your eyes moving? You can’t.
4.Repeat the test with a friend and watch them. You will see their eyes moving quite markedly.
You can’t see your own eyes move because your brain shuts down the image for the instant that your eyes are moving. This is called Saccadic masking.

In the past, this served us well. It meant we could creep up on antelopes without our brain being overloaded by unnecessary detail and a lot of useless, blurred images.

However, what happens when this system is put to use in a modern day situation, such as a traffic junction?

Why we miss motorbikes and bicycles
At a traffic junction all but the worst of drivers will look in both directions to check for oncoming traffic. However, it is entirely possible for our eyes to “jump over” an oncoming bicycle or motorbike.

The smaller the vehicle, the greater the chance it will fall within a saccade.

This isn’t really a case of a careless driver, it’s more of a human incapacity to see anything during a saccade. Hence the reason for so many “Sorry mate, I didn’t see you” excuses.

The faster you move your head, the larger the jumps and the shorter the pauses. Therefore, you’ve got more of a chance of missing a vehicle.

We are effectively seeing through solid objects, with our brain filling in the image.

Additionally, we tend to avoid the edges of the windscreen. The door pillars on a car therefore create an even wider blindspot. This is called windscreen zoning.

The danger of playing music
Our ears help us build up a picture of our surroundings. However, inside our cars or with music playing, our brain is denied another useful cue. Additionally, bicycles are almost completely silent, so won’t be heard by car drivers.


How accidents happen
Let’s say you are driving along. You approach a junction and you notice a lack of traffic. You look left and right and proceed forward. Suddenly you hear the blast of a horn, as a motorbike flashes in front of you, narrowly avoiding an accident.

What just happened?

On your approach, you couldn’t see there was another vehicle on a perfect collision course. With a lack of relative movement for your peripheral vision to detect and the vehicle being potentially hidden by being near the door pillar, you miss it entirely.

Lulled into a false sense of security you looked quickly right and left, to avoid holding up the traffic behind you, and your eyes jumped cleanly over the approaching vehicle, especially as it was still close to the door pillar in the windscreen. The rest of the road was empty, and this was the scene that your brain used to fill in the gaps! Scary, huh?

You were not being inattentive – but you were being ineffective.

Additionally, if you didn’t expect there to be a cyclist your brain is more likely to automatically jump to the conclusion that the road is empty.

Now that you’ve been warned. What can you do?

Forewarned is forearmed, so here’s what we can do.

Drivers:

•Slow down on the approach of a roundabout or junction. Even if the road seems empty. Changing speed will allow you to see vehicles that would otherwise be invisible to you.
•A glance is never enough. You need to be as methodical and deliberate as a fighter pilot would be. Focus on at least 3 different spots along the road to the right and left. Search close, middle-distance and far. With practice, this can be accomplished quickly, and each pause is only for a fraction of a second. Fighter pilots call this a “lookout scan” and it is vital to their survival.
•Always look right and left at least twice. This doubles your chance of seeing a vehicle.
•Make a point of looking next to the windscreen pillars. Better still, lean forward slightly as you look right and left so that you are looking around the door pillars. Be aware that the pillar nearest to you blocks more of your vision. Fighter pilots say ‘Move your head – or you’re dead’.
•Clear your flight path! When changing lanes, check your mirrors and as a last check, look directly at the spot which are going to maneuver.
•Drive with your lights on. Bright vehicles or clothing is always easier to spot than dark colors that don’t contrast with a scene.
•It is especially difficult to spot bicycles, motorbikes and pedestrians during low sun conditions as contrast is reduced.
•Keep your windscreen clean – seeing other vehicles is enough of a challenge without a dirty windscreen. You never see a fighter jet with a dirty canopy.
•Finally, don’t be a clown – if you are looking at your mobile telephone then you are incapable of seeing much else. Not only are you probably looking down into your lap, but your eyes are focused at less then one meter and every object at distance will be out of focus. Even when you look up and out, it takes a fraction of a second for your eyes to adjust – this is time you may not have.
Cyclists and motorcyclists:

•Recognize the risk of being in a saccade. High contrast clothing and lights help. In particular, flashing LED’s (front and rear) are especially effective for cyclists as they create contrast and the on-off flashing attracts the peripheral vision in the same manner that movement does. There’s nothing wrong with leaving these on during the day. (Especially if they are rechargeable)
•The relatively slower speed of bicycles means that they will be closer to a point of collision if a vehicle begins to pull into their path. Turn this to advantage – when passing junctions, look at the head of the driver that is approaching or has stopped. The head of the driver will naturally stop and center upon you if you have been seen. If the driver’s head sweeps through you without pausing, then the chances are that you are in a saccade – you must assume that you have not been seen and expect the driver to pull out!
•Recognize that with a low sun, a dirty windscreen or one with rain beating against it drivers are likely to have less of a chance of seeing you.
•Cycle instructors have been saying it for years: Ride in a position further out from the kerb as a driver is more likely to be looking in this location. See: How to make your next bike ride safer than the last.
What should we do with our human weakness?
John Sullivan’s findings and suggestions are excellent. However, they rely on drivers changing well embedded habits. Personally I believe that, unlike RAF pilots, a driver is very unlikely to change their behavior. Therefore, I’d suggest that this is another reason we should be looking at building safety in to our roads, with Dutch style cycling infrastructure.

Two important takeaways for cyclists: Increasing your contrast helps you be seen. Think flashing bike lights. Also, remember the importance of good road positioning.

Please share this around

[missouriboy]

RICZ said, "

+ I have good reason to believe that people drive according to the possibility of injury to themselves ; they fear vehicles larger than theirs and disregard the smaller ones. Thus, the prof's theory of memory and forgetting has IMO a big hole in it.

I tend to agree with this, it probably is the highest percentage correct. Here's why: it is the natural way that our brains are wired, and that is "for survival of the species." For millions of years we didn't even have motorized transportation, and our natural instincts have not changed. We walked through jungles, prairies, whatever, that were fraught with dangerous threats from all sides. So our brains keep us advised of those dangers at all times, and tell us not to waste moments worrying about the non-threats.

I think that means the prof's theory of erasing short-term memory of the non-threats is mostly correct... it's just the brain's way of accomplishing the objective of making us concentrate on those threats, instead of the small stuff.

This doesn't address the distractions of cell phones, etc., that cause another cohort of the problem. Those drivers are "walking through the jungle" without even minimal concern for their own survival, much less anyone else's.

[bushrat]

Powerful info Wahrsuul (post #17, above); many thanks for sharing!!!

[ozarkryder]

I had always installed a headlight modulator on my two wheelers. If I wanted to be certain that I was seen, all I had to do was switch to high beam. I never trusted that that was a 100% guarantee, but it did increase my odds of accident avoidance. Unfortunately, unless you own an F3, there are no modulators that will work on an RT. I wonder if a modulator could somehow be hooked up to the fog lights on an RT???????

As for modulators, I got a Spyderpops bumpskid with the LED lights, and found that Spyderpops sells a remote contoller that changes the brightness and pattern of the LEDs. During the day I set it to emulate the headlight modulator - it does not flash at that setting, which is illegal, but actually does modulate, which is leagal. A little video in this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlVqyLoG3h4 At night I set the LEDs to steady on and 25% brightness. Along with the headlights, fender tip lights, fog lights and the bumpskid lights, the front end is pretty lit up. Still ride like they don't see me though.


There is a motorcycle store out of Canada called Fortnine that has a series of entertaining and informative videos. This one called "Invisibility Training for Motorcyclists" goes over many of the reasons why we are not seen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x94PGgYKHQ0

[Docster]

I just ride with the high beams on all the time, and sometimes even the fog lights. Never can have too many lights

When I approach a car that may be a concern, I often 'wiggle' the front end so the lights do the same to catch their attention

[UtahPete]

Listening to the podcast I was struck by the professors most damning words, "we think." I majored in psychology in my undergraduate studies and my big complaint has always been that psychologists are unable to differentiate between what they know and what they think they know.

They 'know' what has been empirically proven true. They 'think they know' what has been supported anecdotally and not yet disproved.

[capt.jim]

Macular Degeneration could be one reason a driver looks right at you but doesn't see you. It affects the central focal vision in the direct line of sight, meaning there may be black hole or greatly reduced vision right in the center of where your looking.

[Spyder_Cowgirl]

As the survivor of a head on collision on two wheels in 1993, I can assure you that eye contact with the driver does NOT mean they see you. I was VERY lucky, the collision was slow speed, she was stopped and I was slowing down because I suspected she was going to turn in front of me -- not slow enough to evade, however. When I realized she was going to hit me, I launched myself off the bike -- my knees caught the handle bars and flipped me over the windshield. Landed on my back on the hood of the car, with the heal of one boot cracking the windshield; then rolled off the hood to the ground with the bike (custom built BMW K75LT) landing just inches from my head. As I said, I was lucky, I basically walked away from this accident -- the worst of my injuries were some badly bruised knees and a VERY angry sciatic nerve that had been tagged by the back zipper in my jacket (intended to zip pants to the jacket). Had I stayed with the bike, I am confident my legs would have been severely broken and lord knows what other injuries I might have had internally. My gear, and attempting to get away from the bike, saved me. To this day, I will not ride without it -- ATGATT for me!

All she said was, "I'm sorry, I didn't see you." Typical response from someone that has hit a motorcycle.

I did not ride again for nearly 20 years …. then, along came a Spyder

As others have said, ride like you are invisible -- to many drivers, YOU ARE!

All the best …. Ann