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21-07-2013, 07:06pm
(Posted this in Motorcycle Council of NSW by mistake)
Motion Induced Blindness
This is an interesting email I received saying it explains one major reason why people in cars can look right at you on a motorcycle and not see you.
I can understand this for a pilot, but I'm yet to be convinced that when a car driver is looking right at you on your bike and can't see you, it has more to do with them being a right w@nker than it does with Motion Induced Blindness ('Men In Black' prevents using the acronym 'MIB').
Anyway...from a former Naval Aviator.
"This is a great illustration of what we were taught about scanning outside the cockpit when I went through training back in the '50s. We were told to scan the horizon for a short distance, stop momentarily, and repeat the process. I can remember being told why this was the most effective technique to locate other aircraft.
It was emphasized (repeatedly) to NOT fix your gaze for more than a couple of seconds on any single object. The instructors, some of whom were WWII veterans with years of experience, instructed us to continually "keep our eyes moving and our head on a swivel" because this was the best way to survive, not only in combat, but from peacetime hazards (like a midair collision) as well.
We basically had to take the advice on faith (until we could experience for ourselves) because the technology to demonstrate it didn't exist at that time."
Link below for a demonstration
http://www.msf-usa.org/motion.html
Motion Induced Blindness
This is an interesting email I received saying it explains one major reason why people in cars can look right at you on a motorcycle and not see you.
I can understand this for a pilot, but I'm yet to be convinced that when a car driver is looking right at you on your bike and can't see you, it has more to do with them being a right w@nker than it does with Motion Induced Blindness ('Men In Black' prevents using the acronym 'MIB').
Anyway...from a former Naval Aviator.
"This is a great illustration of what we were taught about scanning outside the cockpit when I went through training back in the '50s. We were told to scan the horizon for a short distance, stop momentarily, and repeat the process. I can remember being told why this was the most effective technique to locate other aircraft.
It was emphasized (repeatedly) to NOT fix your gaze for more than a couple of seconds on any single object. The instructors, some of whom were WWII veterans with years of experience, instructed us to continually "keep our eyes moving and our head on a swivel" because this was the best way to survive, not only in combat, but from peacetime hazards (like a midair collision) as well.
We basically had to take the advice on faith (until we could experience for ourselves) because the technology to demonstrate it didn't exist at that time."
Link below for a demonstration
http://www.msf-usa.org/motion.html
Carpe Diem!