Research into Seeing & Being Seen

[Scootabout]

If you're a BMF member you might have seen this already, in the latest edition of Motorcycle Rider. It seems to cover some of the topics Spin covers in the Science of Being Seen, but appears to be original research, still ongoing. (NB pages might be reverse order.)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WYi4qxV7FnnQ5cPG6

[Horse]

Motorcyclists' visual scanning pattern in comparison with automobile drivers'
Yasuhisa Nagayama, Takanobu Morita, Toshiaki Miura, Junichi Watanabem, Nobuo Murakami
SAE Transactions, 934-945, 1979
Motorcyclists' visual behavior was examined and compared with that of drivers' by an eyemarker method. The background of this research is as follows. From the accident statistics of Osaka prefecture, characteristics of motorcycle accidents and those of ordinary passenger cars were analysed and compared and it was revealed that collisions on turning right (in the United States, collisions on turning left) are most remarkable. In this case, collisions between motorcycles running straight ahead and automobiles turning right are most typical. The automobile drivers expected that the motorcyclists would give way. But, almost without braking, the motorcycles crashed into the automobiles turning right. Here, one of the problems is motorcyclists unawareness of existence of automobiles turning right. We focused upon this. Three males participated as subjects in these experiments with an eye-marker. Independent variables were type of vehicel arid speed. The results are as follows. (1) The proportion of the road surface which was recorded on film through an eye-marker is much larger in riding motorcycles than in driving an automobile. Motorcyclists 1 head is tilted forward. It follows that they are apt to be looking at the closer road surface more frequently. (2) From the result of distribution of fixation points, it is suggested that motorcyclists are mainly acquiring information from the closer road surface, whereas, automobile drivers are mainly acquiring information from distant foreground. (3) In riding motorcycles, the vertical variance of visual field and fixation points is larger. This suggests that motorcyclists are trying to acquire information from both the closer road surface and the distant foreground. (4) Mean fixation duration of motorcyclists is shorter than that of automobile drivers. This suggests that they are acquiring and identifying information relatively superficially. These findings would throw light on motorcyclists' failure to detect vehicles turning right, oncoming vehicles, crossing vehicles and pedestrians. We stress that education for road users should involve these findings and that more appropriate road conditions for stable riding should be realized.

SP copied the paper to several of the usual subjects.

From
http://revtothelimit.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1423

[Horse]

Nakayama (sp?) was interesting on this, comparing the view riders and car drivers took of the road ahead (IIRC the same people ie drivers who rode, or vice versa).

Car drivers looked further ahead, riders spent more time looking down and closer.

He suggested that difference might be due to two things:
- the lower driving position means that the view ofthe road is compressed Vs the higher bike seating position
- the riding position tended to leant forward, so 'encouraging the look downwards

Stephen Prower suggested a third:
Riders are very aware of the effects poor surfaces can have and training which emphasises that.

I think there's a full pdf on the web.

[Horse]

Can't find the PDF, although I have copy (actually two - one is a scan of the original typed document).

Being aware of the road surface and so choosing the 'best' bit is always a compromise. And surfaces (in terms of grip you get) may vary from day to day or even by the minute.

However, if you're approaching a junction where a car is likely to cross, the by all means have a good check of the surface - but then ignore it, put your attention where it's most needed. The surface (and grip) won't change by the time you get to it, but the car might encroach.

[Horse]

And good luck to them getting the DVSA to do something ...

[The Spin Doctor]

I think I've seen that Japanese work before.

Anyway, I'm intrigued as to why the Japanese authors believed the car drivers thought the motorcycles would give way when turning right across the riders' path.

I've heard this 'riders look down more' idea numerous times. I'm dubious that it's a real issue.

"Mean fixation duration of motorcyclists is shorter than that of automobile drivers. This suggests that they are acquiring and identifying information relatively superficially."

Why? It could equally mean they are processing the visual information more quickly.

Reading around the problem, my estimation of the SMIDSY collision isn't that the rider doesn't see the car, it's that the rider doesn't see the car AS A THREAT... until it pulls out.

There are around 100 fatal SMIDSY collisions at junctions each year (2019 figures) and I'd estimate around 1000 serious injury collisions. I don't think anyone has ever tried to count drops taking avoiding action, slow-speed bumps and near-misses but whatever the figure is, it's out of 1.4 million bikes travelling 4 billion miles and sharing the road with about 40 million cars, or thereabouts.

The SMIDSY might be the commonest bike crash, but it's still a pretty damn rare event when we consider our personal risk of having one.

I've been talking to Shel Smith... I was hoping we might get together for a chat whilst I was down in the South West in May and again last month, but she couldn't make it to my Science Of Being Seen presentations down there. I may well try getting an interview with her.

The point she makes about the various manuals not really covering forward observation skills is actually something I've been flagging up for a LONG time. It's all very well to say 'look', but we need to know WHERE, WHEN, HOW and WHY. It doesn't just happen - that's the reason I'm keen on developmental exercises such as the 'cueing' exercise I popped up a few days ago.

viewtopic.php?t=5742

[The Spin Doctor]

And good luck to them getting the DVSA to do something ...

I'm sure we can steer them in the right direction

[Horse]

And good luck to them getting the DVSA to do something ...

I'm sure we can steer them in the right direction

Their response back then was exactly what I fear:

"Your views are representative of other uk trainers"

Well, durr, if they were, I wouldn't be telling you ... "

[Hot_Air]

"Your views are representative of other uk trainers"

Are or aren't?

[Horse]

Whoops

'Are not'