As motorcyclists we ride with the thought process that we are invisible and that may not be far from the truth. There are a great deal of collisions due to a car suddenly turning left into the path of a motorcycle when the motorcyclist was clearly in the right to pass or a car turning left into the path of the motorcycle at an intersection in broad daylight when there are no obstructions. This begs the question why this happens and why is the percentage so high?

Research by a Texas Tech University psychologist brings to light that the large percentage of this problem isn’t due to poor driving or carelessness, but could be due to a basic human judgement error caused by the way the brain judges distance and time. Pat DeLucia, coordinator of the Human Facts Psychology Program at Texas Tech University says these types of brain miscalculations plays a crucial role in motorcycle accidents involving automobiles. DeLucia states that in her studies small, near objects can appear farther away than larger, farther objects. Her studies showed how the brain interprets objects, their size and motion and how it relates to an object’s time to impact. Her finding concluded that an objects size affects distance perception and may be the reason that car drivers miscalculate a motorcyclists distance and speed. The brain uses two visual cues to determine the time of impact. In the first, a moving object is reflected on the eye’s retina, it expands as it approaches the eye, providing the brain accurate information about when the object will hit this is called an optical invariant. However, the brain also uses “rules of thumb” such as various “artist” depth cues as a shortcut. According to DeLucia, the brain interprets objects with a larger retinal image as closer and since motorcycles are smaller than cars, the brain may use this shortcut to judge them as farther away than it actually is.

So let’s do some math here: it takes the average rider 1.2 – 1.5 seconds to react from seeing danger to realize it is a threat, make a decision what to do and react. Using 1.3 sec reaction time at 30mph that’s 56.94 feet to react, at 60 mph it requires 114.4 feet, and at 100mph 189.8 feet to react, pretty sobering isn’t it? Considering the odds are stacked against us already, it is our responsibility to arm ourselves with skills and knowledge to make us better, safer and more aware riders. Be proactive, knowledge and skills will help you take control of situations and allow you to anticipate where situations can arise. Riders need to focus and not be complacent our lives are literally in our own hands. Riding is as safe or as dangerous as you allow it to be.

Take care, ride safe and Vixens Ride!