motion camouflage - Sportbike Addicts

GinoE · 08-10-2006, 09:15 PM

hey kids, i ripped this off another bike forum...

An article in an issue of the UK magazine Bike added a bit to the understanding of why cars pull out in front of motorcycles. Research on how certain insects attact prey was applied to the SMIDSY crash (sorry mate, I didn't see you).

When attacking, a dragonfly stays directly in the line of sight between its potential dinner and a fixed point in the distance. If dinner moves, the dragonfly alters its path just enough to stay on that line of sight. It doesn't swoop out to "lead" its victim. This tactic has the effect of keeping the dragonfly at the same point in the prey's visual field. Because the prey sees no change in the big picture, it is unaware of the impending attack. This is called motion camouflage.

Motion is difficult to perceive when it is directly along the line of sight. Because the object is stationary relative to the background, an observer doesn't see a change in the overall image and thus isn't cued to the presence of a moving object. Though the object increases in apparent size as it nears, the change goes unnoticed at first--moving from 1000ft distant to 900ft may not affect the image enough trigger a response. A motorcycle is particularly susceptible to motion camouflage because its cross-section area as seen by an observer is much less than that of a larger vehicle.

But as the object gets closer, apparent size increases more rapidly. At constant speed, an approaching object takes the same time to move from 200ft to 100ft as it did from 1000ft to 900ft, but the apparent size increase is greater. Eventually the object seems to grow suddenly in size, and the motion camouflage is broken. This is called the looming effect. According to the Bike article, when an observer is startled by the looming effect, he may freeze in his tracks. If the observer is an oncoming left-turner, he may stop in the middle of the intersection, making a bad situation even worse.

Duncan MacKillop, the riding instructor who related motion camouflage to motorcycling, suggests that diverging from the direct line of sight will break the motion camouflage and get the observer's attention. For example, a driver stopped at a cross-street on your right will be looking left at a slight angle to the path of the road. If you stay to the left of your lane, you will diverge from his line of sight, making yourself more noticeable. But if you're veering right (say, moving from the left to the right lane) you'll be moving along the crossing driver's line of sight, helping to hide your motion against the background.

MacKillop recommends: "I observed a smooth, gentle, single, zig-zag motion, at any point along the line, created a rapid edge movement against the background and destroyed the motion camouflage. Drivers' eyes snapped towards me and they froze the movement I swept left to right and back again."

SPRHK · 08-10-2006, 10:36 PM

Sounds like it may hold some truth.

CBRBob · 08-10-2006, 11:12 PM

Speaking of (a little off topic) I saw some moron on 287 near Edison on a camo painted bike.......

SPRHK · 08-10-2006, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBRBob

Speaking of (a little off topic) I saw some moron on 287 near Edison on a camo painted bike.......

IG. · 08-11-2006, 12:24 AM

That's why I think a headlight adds to the problem. They do notice the headlight, but cannot tell it's approaching really fast. I've been riding without the headlight (highways and backroads) with pretty good reaction from cagers.

Not to mention that the cops know from a mile away what a single bright headlight means.

ffejtable · 08-11-2006, 08:17 AM

How about just cagers stopping at a friggen intersection, especially the ones that actually have stop signs.... And while yer stopped take the time to get a good look both ways... Oh, and put down the fucking phone, too...

Its pretty simple, really...

SAXON117 · 08-11-2006, 08:52 AM

very good info

BIGLIZ34 · 08-12-2006, 08:35 AM

i dont buy it. those who insist on looking thru bikers are still dumb fucks in my book. i think they must be giving drivers liscences away these days...there are some horrible drivers out there...and with the amount of people on our roads we are all in danger it doesnt matter what were riding or driving. it seems like evryone takes their bad days out on whoever is on the road too.
how about taking the time and effort put into this analysis into finding ways of making our roads safer for everyone.....

CBRBob · 08-12-2006, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IG.

That's why I think a headlight adds to the problem. They do notice the headlight, but cannot tell it's approaching really fast. I've been riding without the headlight (highways and backroads) with pretty good reaction from cagers.

Not to mention that the cops know from a mile away what a single bright headlight means.

Does it have to be approaching 'really fast'?
All you need is..... HID

IG. · 08-12-2006, 04:57 PM

It's hard to tell any speed when all you see is a bright light, even 30 mph, for the exact reasons the original post explains. I never count on it anyway.

EuniceEstelle · 08-14-2006, 10:04 AM

nice info, makes sense. but sort of hard to do it in practice isn't it?

NYCSTRIPES · 08-14-2006, 10:32 AM

Hey Gino,
I agree that there may be some truths to this theory, but I must agree with the other posts that there are far too many drivers out there that are completely in their own little cell phone operating world when driving. No sense of situational awareness, no chance of finding many drivers who actually look to avoid accidents. Most just have getting to where they are going on the brain.
That just means trouble for us two wheeled insects...

RCM78 · 08-14-2006, 12:29 PM

I heard about the dragonfly theory at my first MSF course. I dont know if its part of the class or if the instr. just mentioned it but it makes sense to me.

I ride like I'm invisable. I cover the brake when crossing intersections, I move to the opposite side of the road if a car is looking to turn. I keep the bike in gear at red lights until the car behind me has come to a full stop.

One thing I dont do is assume I've been noticed. People just dont see motorcycles. I dont think most people would purposefully pull in front of a bike.

We're the ones taking the ambulance trip after a collision. It's our responsibility to ourselves to avoid these collisions.

southjersey636 · 08-15-2006, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCM78

I heard about the dragonfly theory at my first MSF course. I dont know if its part of the class or if the instr. just mentioned it but it makes sense to me.

I ride like I'm invisable. I cover the brake when crossing intersections, I move to the opposite side of the road if a car is looking to turn. I keep the bike in gear at red lights until the car behind me has come to a full stop.

One thing I dont do is assume I've been noticed. People just dont see motorcycles. I dont think most people would purposefully pull in front of a bike.

We're the ones taking the ambulance trip after a collision. It's our responsibility to ourselves to avoid these collisions.

Exactly how I ride. When I see a car coming head on to turn, I move to the outside this way if they do start to turn I dont end up on there hood and might be able to get out of the way. This is the little things that make the difference between a smart thinkin rider and a not so safe thinkin rider.