# 'I didn't see the motorcycle.' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105 "2005-08-15T15:46:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105/41 "2005-08-17T13:44:04Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > Another factor I have not seen much reference to is the real blind spot - the poor design element of our eyes which places a blank spot in the middle of our field of vision. Your brain fills in the blind spot with “assumed” information, so that we do not see it and are normally unaware of it. I would not be surprised to find that a motorcycle at a distance is small enough to be completely or mostly hidden in the blind spot if the driver has his head positioned properly. The brain would then present a sight picture in which the motorcycle is absent just at the point when the driver’s viewpoint is passing over that spot. I don’t buy this. On the rare occasions I drive my car, I have no problem whatsoever seeing motorcycles. Neither do most motorcycle enthusiasts. I’m pretty sure our eyes are no different than anyone else’s. It all comes down to unawareness, distraction and laziness. Too many people spend too much time doing/thinking about things other than driving, while driving. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105/42 "2005-08-17T16:58:39Z")
I’ve always wondered if it could be a problem with depth perception and a single headlight. I know at times (at night) when I see a car with one headlight out, I have misjudged the the distance away that car is (never to the point of causing an accident, however) since my brain is expecting to see two lights side by side. I think it tries to associate his single headlight with the lights behind him. With more people using daytime running lights, I wonder if some brains don’t merge the single headlight with headlights behind the cyclist? Of course this wouldn’t apply when the bike is the only vehicle on the road and the cager still says “I never saw him”. I still don’t understand why they don’t confiscate you license on the spot (and lock you up if you’ve caused injury) if you say “I didn’t see him”. Surely you shouldn’t be driving if you can’t see a motorcycle. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105/43 "2005-08-18T13:59:59Z")
> [@Fear the Turtle](#): > > I’ve always wondered if it could be a problem with depth perception and a single headlight. I know at times (at night) when I see a car with one headlight out, I have misjudged the the distance away that car is (never to the point of causing an accident, however) since my brain is expecting to see two lights side by side. I think it tries to associate his single headlight with the lights behind him. That’s along the lines of my hypothesis in the OP. While it hasn’t been disproven (as far as I’m concerned) it seems the more likely reason drivers ‘don’t see’ motorcycles is, as others have posted (with cites) that it’s a data-processing problem. So, where in the high desert? I went to Quartz Hill High School. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105/44 "2005-08-18T15:13:56Z")
> [@Dorjän](#): > > I don’t buy this. On the rare occasions I drive my car, I have no problem whatsoever seeing motorcycles. Neither do most motorcycle enthusiasts. I’m pretty sure our eyes are no different than anyone else’s. Well, that’s the important thing, isn’t it? You’re a motorcycle enthusiast, of COURSE you’re gonna see the motorcycle. I like redheads. Don’t you think whenever a redheaded girl passes my field of vision, the little midget who answers the phones in my brain flags it as “IMPORTANT” so I notice? Yet countless blondes and brunettes escape my notice walking past me in the open on a sunny day. To put this in automotive terms, I’m something of a Mustang enthusiast. Thus, I notice that LOTS of people in the town I live in drive Ford Mustangs. Hell, I’ve even begun to notice quite a few of the Mustangs with the new front end. I’m vaguely aware that there are people in this town who drive cars other than Mustangs. I know that one of my friends rides a green motorcycle, so I tend to notice lots of green motorcycles, but none in any other color. I doubt that green is the only color those things come in in this town though. Depending on your personal background or interests, your brain will flag different things as being worth your notice. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105/45 "2005-08-18T15:28:21Z")
That was my point. It sounded like you were suggesting that there could be a biological reason behind motorcyclists not being seen, the “blind spot”. I had no problem with the first paragraph of your post, it was just the blind spot paragraph that I called BS on. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105/46 "2005-08-18T16:51:02Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > So, where in the high desert? I went to Quartz Hill High School. I live in Lancaster/Quartz Hill and work at EAFB. I’m a (fairly) recent transplant, however, moving here from the east coast in '97. High school and college in Md. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105/47 "2005-08-18T16:53:43Z")
> [@Fear the Turtle](#): > > I live in Lancaster/Quartz Hill and work at EAFB. I’m a (fairly) recent transplant, however, moving here from the east coast in '97. High school and college in Md. What do you do at Edwards? I worked for Kentron and Computer Sciences Corp. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105/48 "2005-08-18T16:58:53Z")
> [@Dorjän](#): > > That was my point. It sounded like you were suggesting that there could be a biological reason behind motorcyclists not being seen, the “blind spot”. I had no problem with the first paragraph of your post, it was just the blind spot paragraph that I called BS on. Oh, the blind spot thing is true, it’s an actual problem with eyes. Pilots are specifically trained to keep moving their eyes around so that the blindspot doesn’t cover any particular piece of sky for more than a few moments. A 747 jumbo jet can hide in that tiny little space until it’s too close for you to do anything to avoid running into it. But yeah, the blindspot issue with the Mark I Ocular Scanner is a known problem, which marketing promises will be fixed in the Mark II, along with color night vision. Until then, Tech Support suggest you use the “Look around” workaround so as to avoid potential problems due to the blindspot. Oh, and the blindspot thign was not me, it was **Bookkeeper** ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105/49 "2005-08-18T17:04:58Z")
Oh, forgot to mention the “Why” of the blindspot thing. Where the ocular nerve connects to the eye, there’s a lump that covers part of the retina, so for that spot, nothing gets passed along to the brain. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105/50 "2005-08-18T17:30:30Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > What do you do at Edwards? I worked for Kentron and Computer Sciences Corp. Sorry for the hijack - we’ll keep it brief. I’m Civil Service working on the JSF (F/A-22 before that). I’m an R&M engineer but I’m mostly concerned with the diagnostics of the a/c. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-see-the-motorcycle/317105.md?page=2)