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The disproportionately high number of motorcycle-related traffic accidents may be linked to the way the human brain processes—or fails to process—information, according to new research published in Human Factors, "Allocating Attention to Detect Motorcycles: The Role of Inattentional Blindness." The study examines how the phenomenon of inattentional blindness, or a person's failure to notice an unexpected object located in plain sight, might explain the prevalence of looked-but-failed-to-see (LBFTS) crashes, the most common type of collision involving motorcycles.
According to human factors/ergonomics researchers Kristen Pammer, Stephanie Sabadas, and Stephanie Lentern, LBFTS crashes are particularly troublesome because, despite clear conditions and the lack of other hazards or distractions, drivers will look in the direction of the oncoming motorcycle - and in some cases appear to look directly at the motorcycle - but still pull out into its path.
The study authors suggest training drivers to be more alert for motorcycles.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 07 2018, @05:30AM
That depends a great deal on what's going on. I know that I've had to virtually cut off other drivers while executing a lane change on the freeway because that's what I had to do in order to avoid getting boxed up. For the most part, as long as you're not having to slam on your brakes in order to avoid hitting the biker, you should probably just relax. Motorcycles are much more maneuverable than cars are and unless something truly unexpected happens like a tire blowing out at that exact moment, they'll probably speed up. If they don't, you can always drop back a bit. But, either way, it's probably not particularly dangerous.
IMHO, if all cagers used their signals and made lane changes slowly, it would make things so much easier for me because I'd know when and where they were going to change lanes and could accommodate that better. I also wish they'd just let me change lanes when I want to. Motorcyclists have more factors that we have to consider due to the lack of the cage.