== RESCHEDULED… RESCHEDULED== LIVE TALK EVENT 8PM TUE 16 JAN
IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND MOTORCYCLE CONSPICUITY
THEN YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND CAMOUFLAGE FIRST!
live talk event RESCHEDULED 8pm TUESDAY 16 January
“We’re sold a shed-load of clothing that’s supposed to enhance our conspicuity. But does it? What would work best? The easiest way to find out is to start by looking at what does the opposite – what kind of colours and patterns act as camouflage!”
Broadband has now been restored after yesterday’s connection problems so the LIVE TALK EVENT will go ahead tonight (Tue 16 Jan) at 8pm. Sorry for any inconvenience, it was out of my hands. If you can’t make it live, watch on catch up.
Imagine driving down this road. What if a vehicle appears from left, and turns right across your path? How soon will you see it? And when will the driver see you…
…if he or she sees you at all?
Junction collisions – the so-called SMIDSY ‘Sorry Mate I Didn’t See You’ crash are the most common accidents involving motorcycles AND cars. Yes, drivers get it wrong in front of other cars too!
And even more alarmingly, many riders and drivers fail to spot the developing collision until too late.
Why? Isn’t it easy to scan a junction? Unfortunately, the process doesn’t work in the ways most of us think. And so we ALL make errors which lead to the so-called ‘Looked But Failed To See’ (LBFTS) error.
Here’s the bad news. We’ve been investigating this driving error for over half a century, and whilst the research papers have a very good grasp of just how we all scan junctions, little of that work has filtered down into road safety and rider education. Many of us still firmly believe that if a driver didn’t see the bike (or even another car) then that driver “didn’t look properly”.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
This in-depth presentation from Kevin Williams, creator of the ‘Science Of Being Seen’ project aims to show just how drivers and riders alike acquire visual information which informs us about the world outside the windscreen or visor.
Howard A – “…you were the only person who was giving strategic advice on avoiding becoming a casualty and made a Despatch Rider from 1978 to 1985 think outside of the box. It’s all about avoiding those nasty accidents.”
Wednesday’s evenings LIVE ONLINE TALK will focus on how the brain makes use of the intersection of:
to gain a better understanding of how road users visual attention , and identify just how visual data acquisition can break down thanks to phenomena such as motion camouflage and saccadic eye movements, leading to the LBFTS error.
I’ll conclude with some pro-active strategies for identifying situations where this driver error is likely, and what the rider can do to minimise the risks.
DESPITE ITS IMPORTANCE TO ALL BIKERS, SOBS RECEIVES NO FUNDING and all research, writing and webhosting is paid for out of my own pocket. All income from presentation tickets and book sales is ploughed back into the project. Buy a ticket and you’re helping not just yourself but every other biker who wants to know more about the SMIDSY collision. Thanks in advance.
================== STAY UP TO DATE WITH SURVIVAL SKILLS!
On Wednesday 28 April, I was able – thanks to the wonders of Zoom – to deliver a ‘Science Of Being Seen’ presentation to my biggest ever audience in the UK.
I was talking to Thames Valley Advanced Motorcyclists, who I think are still the biggest group of advanced riders in England.
I was absolutely gobsmacked to hear that TVAM had had to upgrade their Zoom subscription to the next level to cope with the demand for virtual seats – over 150 people attended on the evening.
They got the full SOBS talk lasting around forty minutes, followed by an additional thirty minutes question and answer session.
And the feedback was excellent too:
“Was at your talk about SOBS last night for TVAM. A superb presentation & properly interesting subject, I learned a lot. Thank you very much.” MATT
“It was a great session last night Kevin, thank you for taking the time. We got it! “ BEN
It’s always good to get the Science Of Being Seen out to a receptive audience – thanks to TVAM for the chance to speak to the group and a fantastic turn out !
Member of a bike group or riding club? Why not get your OWN PRESENTATION booked up? Thanks to Zoom the talk can be delivered straight to everybody’s own home!
You’ll get a thorough and science-based investigation into the history of junction collisions and safety interventions, the problems of driver visual perception, the pros and cons of motorcycle conspicuity aids such as day-riding lights and hi-vis clothing, along with suggestions for more effective conspicuity strategies and how to ride proactively to prevent the need for someone else to see you to keep you safe!
Science Of Being Seen 