PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

'Element of surprise' explains why motorcycles are a greater traffic hazard than cars

The more motorcyclists on the road, the more easily motorists notice them, Australian study shows

2014-01-27
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Joan Robinson
joan.robinson@springer.com
49-622-148-78130
Springer
'Element of surprise' explains why motorcycles are a greater traffic hazard than cars The more motorcyclists on the road, the more easily motorists notice them, Australian study shows "I didn't see it, because I wasn't expecting it there," might be the more accurate excuse for motorists who have just crashed into a bus or a motorcycle. The mere fact that such vehicles are less common than cars on our roads actually makes it harder for drivers to notice them, says Vanessa Beanland of The Australian National University. Beanland and colleagues conducted research at Monash University on how the so-called "low-prevalence effect" increases the likelihood of accidents. The study is published in Springer's journal Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics.

The impact that this low-prevalence effect has on a person's ability to search through static images, such as in airport luggage screening, has been the topic of previous research. However, Beanland's research team is the first to publish results on how it influences people's ability to safely perform dynamic tasks, such as driving.

They used a driving simulator experiment involving 40 adult drivers to investigate whether it is easier for drivers to detect and respond to specific types of vehicles when they occur more frequently in surrounding traffic. The drivers had to detect two types of vehicles: motorcycles and buses. The researchers varied how frequently these vehicles appeared. Half of the subjects were subjected to a high prevalence of motorcycles and a low number of buses, with the other half experiencing the reverse.

Although participants were explicitly instructed to search for both buses and motorcycles, the researchers found that the attention of the observers was biased toward whichever vehicle occurred more frequently during the simulated detection drive. This in turn affected the speed at which drivers were able to detect low-prevalence targets. In the simulated test in which motorcycles occurred more frequently, the car drivers were able to detect them on average from 51 meters farther away than in the tests where they occurred less often. In effect, at a driving speed of 60 km/h, this allowed the drivers an extra 3 seconds to respond. Similarly, drivers had an extra 4.4 seconds to react to buses in situations where they occurred more frequently.

The results suggest that drivers' inability to always notice motorcyclists is partially due to the fact that motorcycles occur relatively rarely on our roads, and that drivers are simply not on the look-out for them. It therefore appears that by increasing the prevalence of a visual search target it is possible to effectively yet temporarily make it stand out better within a specific visual environment.

"Drivers have more difficulty detecting vehicles and hazards that are rare, compared to objects that they see frequently," says Beanland, who believes that the ability to accurately perform visual searches is crucial to ensuring safe driving and avoiding collisions.

### Reference: Beanland, V. et al. (2014) Safety in numbers: Target prevalence affects the detection of vehicles during simulated driving, Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. DOI 10.3758/s13414-013-0603-1

The full-text article is available to journalists on request.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Genomics for judges: Educating Illinois judges on how genetic info impacts court decisions

2014-01-27
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 27-Jan-2014 [ | E-mail ] var addthis_pub="eurekalert"; var addthis_options = "favorites, delicious, digg, facebook, twitter, google, newsvine, reddit, slashdot, stumbleupon, buzz, more" Share Contact: Nicholas Vasi nvasi@illinois.edu Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Genomics for judges: Educating Illinois judges on how genetic info impacts court decisions New seminar prepares judges to deal with legal questions involving DNA sequencing, analysis, and related technologies in the courts today ...

Early tumor response from stereotactic radiosurgery predicts outcome

2014-01-27
The response of a patient with metastatic brain tumors to treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery in the first six-to-twelve weeks can indicate whether follow-up treatments ...

Swiss cheese crystal, or high-tech sponge?

2014-01-27
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The sponges of the future will do more than clean house. Picture this, for example: Doctors use a tiny ...

Researchers tune in to protein pairs

2014-01-27
Rice University scientists have created a way to interpret interactions among pairs of task-oriented proteins that relay signals. The goal is to learn how the proteins ...

Common crop pesticides kill honeybee larvae in the hive

2014-01-27
Four pesticides commonly used on crops to kill insects and fungi also kill honeybee larvae within their hives, according to Penn State and University of Florida researchers. The team also found that N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone ...

Do brain connections help shape religious beliefs?

2014-01-27
New Rochelle, NY, January 27, 2014—Building on previous evidence showing that religious belief involves cognitive activity that can be mapped to specific brain regions, a new study has ...

NIH grantees develop way to make old antibiotic work against TB

2014-01-27
WHAT: Scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the ...

Put a plastic bag in your tank

2014-01-27
Researchers in India have developed a relatively low-temperature process to convert certain kinds of plastic waste into liquid fuel as a way to re-use discarded plastic bags and other products. They ...

Researchers find changes to protein SirT1

2014-01-27
Researchers find changes to protein SirT1 can prevent excess metabolic stress associated with obesity, diabetes and aging. Studies ...

Severity of spatial neglect after stroke predicts long-term mobility recovery in community

2014-01-27
West Orange, NJ. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Dementia takes 3.5 years to diagnose after symptoms begin

Robotic space rovers keep getting stuck. UW engineers have figured out why

New research shows how immigration status can become a death sentence during public health crisis

University of Toronto Engineering researchers develop safer alternative non-stick coating

Good vibrations: Scientists use imaging technology to visualize heat

More ecological diversity means better nutritional resources in Fiji’s agroforests

New global study shows freshwater is disappearing at alarming rates

Scientists create an artificial cell capable of navigating its environment using chemistry alone

A little salt is good for battery health

Deep-sea fish confirmed as a significant source of ocean carbonate

How to keep kids with eating disorders home after hospital stay? Therapy

Sex differences affect efficacy of opioid overdose treatment

Aligning AI with Human Values and Well-Being

Engineering the next generation of experimental physics

The scuba diving industry is funding marine ecosystem conservation and employing locals

BATMAN brings TCR therapy out of the shadows

Surrogates more likely to be diagnosed with mental illness, study finds

Columbia Engineering researchers turn dairy byproduct into tissue repair gel

Global estimates of lives and life-years saved by COVID-19 vaccination during 2020-2024

Potential trade-offs of proposed cuts to the NIH

New research simulates cancer cell behavior

COVID, over 2.5 million deaths prevented worldwide thanks to vaccines. One life saved for every 5,400 doses administered

Scuba diving generates up to $20 billion annually

Scientists advance efforts to create ‘virtual cell lab’ as testing ground for future research with live cells

How DNA packaging controls the “genome’s guardian”

Simplified models, deeper insights: Coarse-grained models unlock new potential for ionic liquid simulations

Gorillas’ personal circumstances shape their aggression towards groupmates

Which signalling pathways in the cell lead to possible therapies for Parkinson's disease

Identifying landslide threats using hydrological predictors

First graders who use more educational media spend more time reading

[Press-News.org] 'Element of surprise' explains why motorcycles are a greater traffic hazard than cars
The more motorcyclists on the road, the more easily motorists notice them, Australian study shows