For people with motorcycles, the summertime is synonymous with riding. They eagerly await the first day in spring when they can get their motorcycles out of storage. They may spend their evenings or weekends out touring on local roads.
Motorcycles are a reliable and cost-effective form of transportation that are also truly enjoyable to operate. However, they don’t provide much physical protection for riders in the event of a crash. Despite social stereotypes implying the opposite, many motorcycle riders are very fastidious about following the law and trying to ensure their safety on the road.
Unfortunately, the people operating larger vehicles may not be quite as safety-oriented. They may cause motorcycle collisions and could then try to deny that they are responsible for the incident. In many cases, they claim that they didn’t see the massive, loud vehicle or its operator before the collision. Why do so many drivers insist that they didn’t notice a motorcycle before hitting it?
Driving is hard on the brain
The human brain manages all physical processes, many of which are subconscious. It also processes sensory information to help keep people safe. The brain’s analysis of incoming visual information is one of the most demanding functions it performs. Drivers in traffic often have more incoming visual information than their brains can manage at once.
The brain has to prioritize information that it believes could affect the safety of the person. People tend to notice large and threatening objects in traffic. However, the brain may not recognize motorcycles as a source of risk. Psychologists refer to this as inattentional blindness. Unless people intentionally look for motorcycles, they may never notice them in traffic even if they look directly at them across an intersection.
The recent surge in distracted driving only worsens this phenomenon. People splitting their attention between mobile devices and the road are even more likely than others to overlook motorcycle riders and other smaller objects in traffic. Regardless of what excuse a driver gives, they are likely still responsible for the major collisions that they cause.
Motorcycle riders may need help managing insurance claims and looking into whether they have grounds for personal injury lawsuits, and that’s okay. Holding drivers accountable for causing motorcycle crashes can provide injured motorcycle riders or grieving families with a sense of justice.