Every year, thousands of motorcyclists are killed or injured in crashes involving passenger vehicles. A common excuse among drivers is that they didn’t see the motorcycle.
Understanding why motorists fail to see motorcycles can help riders increase their visibility and stay safe when they’re on the road.
Inattentional blindness
There’s a phenomenon known as “inattentional blindness,” which is often referred to as “looked-but-failed-to-see” (LBFTS) in accident analyses. In these situations, a driver technically looks in the direction of a motorcycle but doesn’t mentally register its presence.
This can occur because drivers are more conditioned to look for larger vehicles such as cars, trucks and SUVs, and motorcycles have a much smaller visual profile. Drivers may overlook a motorcycle simply because it occupies less space in their field of vision.
This problem is especially common at intersections or during lane changes. Drivers make quick decisions without carefully checking their surroundings. Unfortunately, those few seconds can lead to catastrophic consequences.
Motorcycles can quickly disappear into a vehicle’s blind spot. Drivers who fail to properly check their mirrors and blind spots before changing lanes may sideswipe a rider or force them off the road. This is particularly dangerous on highways where everyone is traveling at high speeds, and motorcyclists have little room to react.
Even if a driver does see a motorcycle, they often misjudge how far away it is or how fast it’s going. The driver may be attempting a left-hand turn and think they have plenty of time to proceed, only to collide with the rider moments later.
Motorcycle accidents are often catastrophic — sometimes even fatal — because riders don’t have the safety features found in passenger vehicles, such as a steel frame, seat belts and air bags. After an accident, motorcyclists are often left with significant medical expenses, lost income and long-term physical limitations. If you or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident, understanding the cause of the crash is essential to protecting your legal rights and pursuing fair compensation.