On the first try:
I blew the count after 8.
I got the bear.
Fair or not, that is exactly how motorcycles get squished all the time. Cagers are taught to look for cages and the occasional pedestrian, not motorcycles or bicycles. It's also possibly a contributing factor to a lot of crashes due to inattention to the environment or preoccupation with something else.
To be fair I've almost hit peds with way more frequency then cycles of any kind. Cycles are just more visible to me then peds due to their motion and predictability. Although I do understand the preoccupation thing after being hit by a minivan while riding my bicycle.
[cycle]I often wonder about how people are taught to look for things and if the common observation/search thinking process is wrong.
[/quote]
Can't comment about others, but while driving my scanning process is quite different from watching that vid or other activities. Years of video games and city driving have trained me well. Unfortunately I'm not scanning for motorcycles explicitly because they seem to be almost as visible as cars unless they hang out in the blind spot. And vehicles of any size shouldn't hang out there in the first place.
I'm usually looking for debris in the road, children, animals, and peds.
My scan goes in this order:
1. My relation to the vehicle in front
2. lane position (leaving a car sized space to on at least 1 side for evasive maneuvers)
3. Does anyone want to change lanes (adjust speed to let them in (including non-signalers based on car language))
4. Debris scan
5. Scan lateral motion (poorly timed cars or ppl crossing infront of me)
6. Check for peds, children, or animals and predict their vector.
7. Check behind for vehicle attempting to pass and give way. (includes the dozen motorcycles that pass me during rush hour within inches of my side mirror)
