Remember in your MSF course how they said to always keep your eyes moving? Well here's why. Be sure to click the link that says "MSF" at the bottom of this post for a cool demonstration of motion blindness.
For evolutionary reasons, our brains remove stationary things from our
immediate field of vision. Moving things represent potential danger.
Stationary things do not. That's why the predators and prey alike have
learned how to freeze in place. Camouflage and motionless can actually
make both predator and prey invisible to one another.
All this becomes a severe liability when flying, driving, or riding motorcycles when there are moving objects in the field of view which are actually on
a collision course with your vehicle, but appear to remain stationary in
your field of view.
This is most commonly seen when you are on a highway and another vehicle
is coming down an on-ramp at a speed that paces yours. It remains in the
same place as viewed through the windshield or side windows.
Your brain will simply erase the other car's image from your view....
until you move your head. This can also occur in your mirrors when a
vehicle is overtaking you at a very slow rate. If you simply constantly
scan by moving your head or eyes, those important objects will remain
visible.
How many times have we heard "I never saw the other car before the
accident"? It's real.
Follow the link for an actual demonstration of the effect. It's real, too. Deliberately develop a habit of constant scanning when you ride!
MSF
For evolutionary reasons, our brains remove stationary things from our
immediate field of vision. Moving things represent potential danger.
Stationary things do not. That's why the predators and prey alike have
learned how to freeze in place. Camouflage and motionless can actually
make both predator and prey invisible to one another.
All this becomes a severe liability when flying, driving, or riding motorcycles when there are moving objects in the field of view which are actually on
a collision course with your vehicle, but appear to remain stationary in
your field of view.
This is most commonly seen when you are on a highway and another vehicle
is coming down an on-ramp at a speed that paces yours. It remains in the
same place as viewed through the windshield or side windows.
Your brain will simply erase the other car's image from your view....
until you move your head. This can also occur in your mirrors when a
vehicle is overtaking you at a very slow rate. If you simply constantly
scan by moving your head or eyes, those important objects will remain
visible.
How many times have we heard "I never saw the other car before the
accident"? It's real.
Follow the link for an actual demonstration of the effect. It's real, too. Deliberately develop a habit of constant scanning when you ride!
MSF
