Motorcycle Safety Videos

Fo you have a few moments to spare?

A few 'motorcycle safety videos from history' to watch, and a little bit of background too.

First off, the classic 'Think Once, Think Twice, Think BIKE!"



And an alternative version:



- - - A little story about this version: The bloke who did the stunt riding was interviewed on TV, and asked "Isn't it difficult to do that without being hurt?" He answered: "No, not once you've practiced . . . "

Now for the more recent version:



And now for the science!

The 'Think Once' fist/hand image is re-used in this video, produced by Transport for London:



It's based on a psychological phenomenon caled 'looming', and the 'time to arrival illusion'.

More here on the TfL site.

In tests, which used footage of vans, cars and motorcycles approaching at identical speeds, psychologists found that participants regularly estimated that motorcycles would take longer to reach them than larger vehicles.

This optical effect, caused by the way the brain assesses approaching objects, could cause drivers to underestimate how much time and space they have available when pulling out in front of approaching motorcycles.

London, of course, is a fairly 'urban' area, so suffers more - or at least, it's motorcyclists do - from the 'SMIDSY' ("Sorry, mate, I didn't see you", or 'Right of Way Violation') crashes than rural areas, where many bike crashes are single-vehicle, and self-inflicted.

Full science article here.

And it's for those riders that 'Perfect Day' was made:



Another selection of videos, and some history, soon.



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