Motorcycle rider conspicuity and crash related injury: case-control study
BMJ 2004; 328 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.37984.574757.EE (Published 08 April 2004) Cite this as: BMJ 2004;328:857All rapid responses
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As both car driver and motorcyclist, I feel both predator(car) and
prey(motorcycle). I’m amazed how invisible motorcycles(prey) seem when I’m
driving the car(predator).
This is especially true at night when I cannot distinguish between
the single headlight of a motorcycle coming toward me, and any one of a
number of street lights lining the road(prey camouflaged).
It’s as if the cycle with it’s one “eye” is invisible. If it had two
“eyes”, spaced well apart(predator), not side by side as does occur on
some cycle models, but more like the cars headlights, I suspect the
motorcycle would be more recognisable/visible, and worthy of respect, as
if competitor prey. But then prey may turn on feeble pedestrians.
Competing interests:
Remaining alive as prey
Competing interests: No competing interests
The paper by Wells et al. brought to mind my experiences as a sixteen
-year old aspiring to a medical career, working in the state trauma centre
in Missouri. Naively expecting to be confronted by streams of patients
presenting with gunshot wounds, virtually all of our workload consisted of
dealing with the fallout from a local Goldwing motorcycle convention. Many
of the casualties had needlessly severe injuries from their failure to
even wear a protective helmet, let alone a conspicuously-coloured one.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Dear Editor,
Although any study looking at how to reduce motorcycle casualties is to be
welcomed, I feel the study from Wells et al has several significant flaws.
The authors do not provide any information relating to the type of
accident the 'case' patients were involved in. In particular, there is no
indication whether the motorcyclist was at fault in the accident, or even
whether another vehicle was involved. In these instances, the visibility
of the motorcyclist is likely to be irrelevant.
Similarly, for the 25.7% of accidents which occurred at night,
clothing and helmet colour would have been irrelevant in terms of
visibility. However, these accidents appear to have been included when
analysing the effect of clothing and helmet colour.
There is also no information given about the accident history of the
control group, although this is a potential confounding factor. A
significant proportion of motorcyclists will be involved in an accident at
some point in their riding career, and it is highly likely that some of
those identified as controls will have had an accident in the past. It is
not clear whether such riders were excluded from the study. If this was
not the case, then any comparisions drawn against this group will not be
valid.
The type of motorcycle being ridden is also not mentioned.
Motorcycles and motorcyclists are far from a homogeneous group. Riders of
'race replica' machines are generally a very different group to those
riding 'custom/cruiser' style motorcycles. Many years of personal
experience suggests that the type of machine ridden is a better indicator
of riding style and risk-taking than factors such as age, income or
education. This is a significant factor, which does not appear to have
been given sufficient attention.
Before advocating 'high visibility' clothing, we must also consider
what it actually is, and whether it will make a difference. As being
visible depends on standing out from the background, no one colour is
'high visibility' in all situations. Indeed, in our increasingly garish
urban landscape, plain dark colours may actually offer the greatest
contrast. Finally, no amount of high visibility clothing will help if road
users do not look before manoeuvring. The fact that the majority of
accidents in this study took place at low speeds in good conditions
suggests that inattention, rather than inconspicuity, may have played a
greater part.
Competing interests:
The author has a black motorcycle helmet and dark blue/ black leathers.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Motorcycle safety deserves further study - riding towards 2010
Dear Editor,
May I congratulate Wells et al [1] and the BMJ for illuminating the
plight of motorised two wheelers, particularly just after National
BikeSafe Weekend (an initiative run by Police Forces around the United
Kingdom (UK) to help to lower the number of motorcycle rider casualties).
I would like to make a few points, some of which echo those in The
Police Riders Handbook [2]. Conspicuity can change rapidly: a white
motorcycle against black tarmac is relatively visible, but the same
machine against a white lorry merges. Indeed, any motorist may become
invisible to another road user whose vision has been dazzled by bright
sunlight irrespective of conspicuity measures.
The authors’ ascertainment of headlight use to increase daytime
visibility wasn't expanded upon. Bulb type and luminescence vary, and
motorcyclists may ride with dipped or full beam headlights. These
variables weren’t specifically addressed in the study. In fact, it has
been suggested that voluntary use of daytime headlights might endanger
those not using headlights, at least under laboratory conditions [3].
In the UK, a motorcyclist starting at the age of 17 will have had
more than eight accidents by the age of 35[2] indicating that riders may
not learn from their mistakes. With this in mind, the randomly selected
control group may in fact have a significant and potentially confounding
accident history.
What a road user sees depends on a large extent to what they expect
to see - the looking but not seeing phenomenon. It was interesting that
most accidents occurred in fine daytime weather at lower speeds raising
the potential attribution of overconfidence and inattention by crash
victims and perpetrators.
It mustn't be forgotten that a motorcyclist can increase their
conspicuity in other ways. Police motorcyclists are taught to increase
their profile when not engaged in high speed riding e.g., use of the horn
to inform others of your presence, proper positioning for following and
turns [2], reinforcing indicators with hand signals etc.
The popularity of motorcycling has grown steadily since 1995 in the
UK, the biggest increase being seen in motorcycles over 500cc capacity;
these riders accounted for 75% of motorcycle fatalities in 2002 in an
analysis of motorcycle fatalities by the Transport Research Laboratory
[4]. Collision between a car and a motorcycle accounted for 74% of
motorcyclist fatalities involving at least one other vehicle. Failure to
observe the motorcycle or to judge its speed or path was also cited as a
key contributory factor where drivers were judged to be primarily
responsible for the fatality. Strategies to raise visibility of
motorcyclists themselves, and raising awareness of motorcyclists by other
road users clearly deserves further study if the Government is to meet its
2010 targets for increased road safety. A method of riding and driving
offered by the Institute of Advanced Motorists [5] may indeed reduce
accident rates - a factor which is increasingly recognised by motoring
insurance companies.
[1]Wells et al. Motorcycle rider conspicuity and crash related
injury: case-control study. BMJ 2004;328:857-60.
[2]Motorcycle Roadcraft. The Police Rider's handbook. 1996. Coyne. ISBN
011341143X.
[3]Hole GJ, Tyrrell L. The influence of perceptual 'set' on the detection
of motorcyclists using daytime lights. Ergonomics. 1995;38(7):1326-41
[4] www.dft.gov.uk Tomorrow's roads - safer for everyone: The first three
year review. Theme 7: Safer motorcycling.
[5] www.iam.org.uk
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests