Honolulu and Oahu make a great location for motorcycle riding. Whether a lifelong resident of the island or one of the thousands of tourists who visit Hawaii every month, taking a cycle out around the island is one of the best ways to experience the unique places and vistas only Hawaii can offer.
Sadly, just as rain occasionally falls to dampen a day at the beach, with motorcycles come motorcycle and car accidents. Riding comes with increased risks, due to the extremely exposed position of a motorcycle rider. You are always only inches away from road rash, broken bones or worse.
It also seems that no matter how much publicity motorcycle awareness programs receive, riders are still struck by cars. Riders are hit by cars pulling out right in front of the cycle from parking lots and side streets. How could they not see an Electra Glide or a Goldwing right in front of their vehicle?
A recent study published in Current Directions in Psychological Science suggest that the brain may read visual cues in a way that causes drivers in cars to misinterpret the smaller size of a motorcycle, as compared to a car or truck, as being further away.
This leads drivers, even when they see the motorcycle, to enter a road directly in front of the cycle. The brain seems to use “rules of thumb” when gauging distance and the relative size of the object is a significant factor in the use of the rule of thumb.
The teaching lesson from this research is that motorcycle riders need to exercise extreme caution when they see a vehicle about to enter the street or make a left turn.
Source: Claims Journal, “Vehicle/Motorcycle Accident Link to Brain Miscalculation: Study,” September 10, 2013