The Psychology of Driving - When motorists look but don't see

Engineering researchers at the University of Toronto recently studied the eye movements of drivers at busy junctions and found more than half failed to look for pedestrians or cyclists.

"The results were quite surprising," said Professor Birsen Donmez, Canada Research Chair in Human Factors and Transportation. "We didn't expect this level of attention failure, especially since we selected a group that are considered to be a low crash-risk age group."

"I think it's an infrastructure issue. I don't think it's an education issue. When you look at the bike lanes in the city—they appear over here, but disappear there—the more unpredictable the road rules are, the more challenging it is."

"Sorry mate, I didn't see you"

If you've always wondered how it that drivers are able to look but not see, you may be interested in the book The Psychology of Driving by Graham Hole.

The title was recommended to us by traffic police officer Mark Hodson from the Central Police Motorway Group (@markandcharlie on twitter ):

"The book covers drivers that are stationary that pull out in front other road users where offender speed isn't an issue but awareness is and the need to recognise how the brain actually sees and alter that process to actually look properly."

"The whole book is a great read, great chapters on young and older drivers, drink and drug driving as well, but the chapter on conspicuity explained a lot of the things that victims & offenders have said to me over the years when being interviewed that left me thinking how did they not see them. Added new levels to my my thinking about how I drive and ride, even walk on top of my police training."

The Psychology of Driving

The Psychology of Driving is a fascinating introduction into the psychological factors at play when people get behind the wheel. Exploring the role of personality traits and cognitive functions such as attention in driving, the book considers why human error is most often to blame in road accidents, and how we can improve driver safety. The book debunks the myth that men are better drivers than women and considers why some people indulge in knowingly risky behaviour on the road, including using mobile phones and drink/drug-driving.

Win a copy of The Psychology of Driving

We have a copy of the book to give away. Simply leave us a message at the bottom of this page and we'll pick a name next week.

Can high-vis clothing help?

Our collective preoccupation with high-vis is pernicious and has lead to an institutionalised sense that vulnerable road users without it are to blame should they be killed or maimed by a motorised vehicle. This is, of course, nonsense. Cyclists who want to stand out on the roads should ensure their road skills are up to scratch and ride assertively.

As far as clothing is concerned, take note of the findings of Dr Ian Walker, Professor of Environmental Psychology at Surrey University, whose research focuses on the safety of vulnerable road users and their interactions with motorists, considering such issues as road user attitudes and stereotypes, and the roles of urban design and policy in affecting vulnerable road users' safety. Dr Walker researched some years ago the effect of cycle helmet wearing on the behaviour of cyclists. He discovered that drivers leave less space when overtaking cyclists wearing helmets. The reason for this behaviour may also explain the results of a more recent experiment. Dr Walker monitored cars when they overtook cyclists wearing a variety of high-visibility and disruptive pattern clothing.

Dr Walker found that outfits in the study (except the one with the word 'police') were treated exactly the same, almost to the centimetre. The vest marked 'polite' was found to have no effect at all.

The ethical choice

The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance, breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.

The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK's most ethical provider.

{{cta-cycling}}