Say what you see
If you see it, say 'bike'
‘See bike, say bike’ could be the solution to looked-but-failed-to-see crashes.
We wrote about
inattentional blindness last year, following a study on the topic which is sadly all too familiar with bikers. The study claimed it wasn't the driver’s fault for not registering the presence of motorcycles on the road. Rather, we have a limited capacity to process information, and it is our natural flaw that we would be inattentively blind to them.
Now a new study by the University of Nottingham has shed more light on the subject. The study found that participants saw vehicles, but almost immediately forgot they'd seen them. This was five times more likely when the vehicle was a motorbike.
They’ve offered a suggestion which it's claimed will help prevent inattentional blindness. If our short term memory is to blame for it, action is needed to increase this cognitive function. The study found that when drivers see a bike and say the word ‘bike’ out loud, it promoted their overall awareness of them as well as their short term memory.
In a country where 20% of road fatalities are motorcycle-related, despite them taking up a far smaller proportion of roads, it is evident more needs to be done to combat the issue.
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