Don't Believe your Eyes

If you read this post from last summer, you'll know that I have some experience with drivers not noticing me on my motorcycle. That's the first thing that came to mind when I read this article. The basic premise of the article is that a driver's brain doesn't always interpret what their eyes are seeing correctly. If a motorcycle traveling at a high rate of speed goes from outside a driver's vision into their line of sight in a matter of seconds, the driver's brain may not be able process this new visual stimulus, possibly causing an accident.

In the case from my past blog post, I rode up to a group of slow moving cars and decided to pass them. The car in front of me pulled into the left lane, basically running me off the road when I pulled out. After reading the article linked above, I think that she may not have noticed me even if she looked in her rear view mirror prior to deciding to pass. The possibility that this driver's mind tricked her into passing even if she looked directly at me approaching is pretty scary.

So, what can we as riders do to protect ourselves against driver's literally not registering that we are there? I guess it's best to always assume that no one can see you. Always slow down near intersections and beep your horn or rev your engine when you may be in a driver's blind spot. In my daily commute, I always drive by a certain intersection that I get a eerie feeling about. I always tend to slow way down when I come up to it as I've had a few close calls with people nearly pulling out in front of me. Always be aware of your surroundings and stay safe!

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." - Roger "Verbal" Kint from The Usual Suspects