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The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 11:23 am
by Hot_Air
@Horse Please could you share the link to your article about how to use the Z-line to avoid SMIDSYs? My Google Fu couldn't find it

Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 11:35 am
by The Spin Doctor
As I happen to be online here and know where the article is...
http://the-ride-info.blogspot.com/2008/ ... ction.html
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 11:35 am
by The Spin Doctor
Incidentally, I always talk about it at the end of the Science Of Being Seen presentation as a proactive way of attempting to defeat Motion Camouflage.
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 11:41 am
by Horse
Thanks!
There's a set of 5 blog posts.
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 11:45 am
by Horse
Hot_Air wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 11:23 am
@Horse Please could you share the link to your article about how to use the Z-line to avoid SMIDSYs? My Google Fu couldn't find it
https://www.google.com/search?q="z+line ... ine+SMIDSY"
So what did you search for?
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 2:00 pm
by Hot_Air
I couldn't spell the word "Z"

Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 2:40 pm
by Horse
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 4:51 pm
by MingtheMerciless
Ta, interesting read.
I sort of do this already, maintaining a "he looks a bit of a hazard" riding style to make people pay attention to me.

Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 7:39 pm
by JackyJoll
Iām not āwobbling all over the place-ā Iām doing the zeeline!
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:31 pm
by Scootabout
Sometimes "waggling the wing-tips" will do. At others the "wasp manoeuvre". Finally the full zed.
It seems to be movement that attracts attention, but a bee-line towards the 'target', as mere looming, isn't enough.
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 10:22 pm
by Scootabout
I don't know if anyone else has seen this? I've not read it all, but it seems to suggest the triangle of light thing matters, hi viz doesn't. I couldn't see anything on Z line. There's reference to 'self movement' or similar, but that seems to refer to eg keeping moving at a give way sign.
https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal ... xport.html
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 11:20 pm
by The Spin Doctor
New paper to me... will read.
I am sure you have worked your way through the Science Of Being Seen website
https://scienceofbeingseen.wordpress.com haven't you?
I looked at the 'triangle of light'
https://scienceofbeingseen.wordpress.co ... tive-drls/
"SUMMARY ā itās long been recognised that a dipped headlight is not the most effective day-riding light⦠making the bike stand out has become a more difficult problem now cars also have day running lights⦠an effective DRL has to work under multiple conditions⦠DRLs are most effective at dawn and dusk but less effective in daytime conditions of bright sun⦠single headlights offer poor help to drivers in judging speed and distance⦠but DRLs also have to provide a āvisual signatureā so drivers realise they are seeing a motorcycle and drivers are quick to recognise single headlights as belonging to a bike⦠twin lights may be mistaken for a car⦠the ātriangle of lightsā is ineffective in terms of daytime conspicuity but help drivers judge speed and distance more accurately⦠unusual lights risk not being recognised as being fitted to a PTW⦠like hi-vis clothing DRLs are not āfit and forgetāā¦"
If you want the short version of the site, there's a paperback too
https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/kevin-w ... pageSize=4 Cost covers upkeep of the site plus time reading papers!!
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:47 am
by Hot_Air
What do you think the author meant by this: "The effect of additional scenic motion is shown to negatively affect car detection sensitivity, while simulated self-motion is shown to impair detection thresholds for motor vehicles."
I highly recommend this book

And it's one of those subjects that's easier to read in a book, not online.
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 11:00 am
by Horse
Now it might just be a coincidence ... There's a senior chap at Royal Holloway, called John Wann.
He was supervising at Reading when this was done:
https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal ... e9ff).html
And he has a long-term interest in this sort of stuff:
https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal ... =10&page=0
This (Nakayama, and Tofield and Wann) is interesting:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3Bc ... nn&f=false
I know about this because 'Tofield' was my best man
The 'time to arrival illusion' supported this:
I believe that was also based on earlier work by Crilly & McGuire:
As far as lateral position goes there's been little research, in particular for movement such as Z Line I know of none.
There is one US paper comparing lateral position within lanes.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=e ... C47d3LFpIJ
Also:
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7410053 PDF linked
There is a Nottingham simulator study, but I canāt find it right now.
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:33 pm
by Scootabout
For some reason this paragraph caught my eye:
"Motorcyclists - at least male motorcyclists - perceive themselves as more masculine, but motorcycle riding is associated with a significantly higher than normal rate of erectile dysfunction." (Page 658).

Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:40 pm
by Horse
IIRC bicyclists suffer from the pressure of hard narrow leather seats against certain nerves ...
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:45 pm
by Scootabout
Horse wrote: Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:40 pm
IIRC bicyclists suffer from the pressure of hard narrow leather seats against certain nerves ...
https://www.rido-cycling.com/ 
Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2020 1:17 pm
by The Spin Doctor
Hot_Air wrote: Tue Nov 17, 2020 9:47 am
What do you think the author meant by this: "The effect of additional scenic motion is shown to negatively affect car detection sensitivity, while simulated self-motion is shown to impair detection thresholds for motor vehicles."
Dunno. But the fact that the human eye is sensitive to lateral movement and not towards movement directly towards the observer (which merely leads to a change in relative size) is well-known from other fields, not least the military.
I highly recommend this book

And it's one of those subjects that's easier to read in a book, not online.
Thanks
Appreciated.
There's also 10% off the paperbook price for a couple of days right now:
10% off orders of all print products | Use Code: SELFPUBLISH10 | Ends November 20th at 11:59 PM UTC | Details
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Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2020 5:30 pm
by MingtheMerciless
Iāve waiting for Survival Skills to arrive but Iām getting a bit concerned that I may need the Penguin Book of motorcycle riding 1A first

Re: The Z-line vs. the SMIDSY
Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2020 10:29 pm
by Scootabout

Just ordered Science of Being Seen