Interesting Motorcycle/Car safety report

[greatmaul]

It's about 40 pages long and was done for the Department of Transportation in London. Long winded, of course, but very interesting in parts. It talks about psychological and visual tests done on car drivers to determine why they don't see motorcyclists, and what motorcyclists can do about it.

Partly, it stated that high visibility colors do less than we'd expect, daytime running lights are good, and it recommends "lateral weaving" as one of the best ways to attract a driver's attention. Apparently, people see lateral motion very well, so if you're coming towards a left turner, you might want to weave a bit so they'll see you.

Best, of course, is to also expect them not to see you, and prepare to stop.

Here's the link. Maybe since it's winter, we'll all have time to wade through this: "Car Drivers’ Skills and Attitudes to Motorcycle Safety: A Review"
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/research/rsrr/theme2/rsrr85.pdf

[JWR]

What i read a while ago said we were like a sign pole or telephone pole...no width.

People tend to look right thru or over us because they don't see movement that could harm them.

[greatmaul]

Right. I think they said when you go from 50 meters away to 30 meters away, you're almost 60 feet closer to them, but only 0.16% larger, visually, so there's really no sense of movement.

[Gz Rider]

...

[Water Warrior 2]

Lateral movement does work well to attract attention. I do agree with GZ Rider's concerns but I consider them secondary to a cage crossing my path of travel. You can adjust your position relative to oil patches and other vehicles but a confrontation with a left turner can really hurt and that is my primary concern. What it really boils down to is the fact that we have to be extremely vigilant or get hurt.
What I do know is that the GZ is not a lot of bike to see when it is coming straight towards you on the street.