Difference in visibility by bike type?

 

Got to thinking... are there any statistics, or even hearsay and
anecdotes, about cagers seeing certain types of bikes more/less? For
example, is a cruiser more likely to be hit by a cager that "didn't
even see him coming" vs, say, a sportbike? Full dress touring bike?
Dual sport?

I would think a big white faired motorcycle like a motor cop's would
get noticed more, for example, based on a cager's basic instinct to
avoid tickets. But I wonder if they also subconsciously perceive, for
example, a sport bike "land missile" as more of a threat and thus
notice one better at higher brain levels.

Thoughts?

 


You may find this of some interest:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/research/rsrr/theme5/indepthstudyofmotorcycleacc.pdf

The last paragraph on p. 9 (as numbered in the document pages, not the .PDF
numbers) may be interesting.

There has been anecdotal evidence to say that motorcycles weaving are more
visible (there is a term for this technique, forget what it is), but I don't
recall coming across observations about safety by motorcycle type.

A lot of motorcycle accidents occur because the motorcycle fills up a
smaller portion of the field of view and the rate at which it angularly
increases with respect to speed is lower for a bike.  In other words, it
screws with a driver's ability to judge the speed of the bike -- a bike
traveling at a similar speed is smaller and the rate at which it is growing
larger is less.

Datesfat

 


http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/research/rsrr/theme5/indepthstudyofmotorcycleacc.pdf

Actually, I found p. 29 to pretty much answer my question. "Super-
sport bikes have a significantly lesser propensity than other types of
motorcycle for being involved in ... [right-of-way violation]
accidents."

On the other hand, super-sport riders tend to fail to negotiate turns
more often than other types. Win some, lose some. That, at least, is
more under the rider's control than the cager's.

 


http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/research/rsrr/theme5/indepthstudyofmotorcycleacc.pdf

It may be hard to sort out the data there.

Sportbikes tend to have brighter colors.  That could contribute.

However, other factors that come to mind:

a)Sportbikes tend to have more power available, better brakes, better
vehicle dynamics for collision avoidance, and better tires.  That may allow
many riders to outmaneuver right-of-way violations.

b)Sportbike riders show some riding tendencies that may decrease the chance
of right-of-way violations or accidents.  For example, if you're constantly
passing other traffic, it may be harder for you to be in a cager's blind
spot for long.  And (on the freeway, for example), if a cager makes a move
while you're in the blind spot but traveling faster, you've already got a
speed jump to get out of the way.

c)Sportbike riders tend to wear brighter clothing, often reflectorized.  A
typical Harley rider, on the other hand, might prefer black leathers.  It is
hard to separate the effect of the clothing on visibility from the effect of
the bike.

Datesfat

 


For one, almost any land barge of a bike I see on the street strikes me as a
potential jughead of a slow moving obstruction to traffic. Every passing day
and every encounter has proven that notion correct, with but one or two
exceptions out of the thousands, possibly tens of thousands, I've come
across in traffic. If you're habitually first at the light; lose a car
length or more to the soccer mom in the minivan on the green; or get beaten
off the line by the city bus, you're a jughead. Kindly get out of your own
way long enough to get out of my way. If you're offended by this, chances
are extremely good that I'm talking about you.