The Invisible Motorcyclist People in a study counting bouncing ball impacts didn't notice a gorilla walking through the film they are watching. This relates to car v motorcycle accidents, since thay aren't expecting to see us, they don't see us. The psycological researchers call it "inattentional blindness for dynamic events." Fred Rau talked about this phenomena in his March Contact Patch article in Rider magazine. I've understood that cars don't see us for a long time. You see, I'm the Invisible Motorcyclist. Many years ago I began noticing the large numbers of people who were dying at railroad crossings. It seems they just didn't notice trains and drove into their path. Howling horns screeching metal and Darwin was proven right again. And again. And again. That's when I realized that all that flashy lighting and ugly reflective stuff was a waste of my time. If they don't see a megaton machine with a giant bright light and legendary horn, they aren't gonna see me. Add the simple fact that a train never swerves in front of ANYONE, and the fault is clearly in the 4-wheel drivers' perceptions. So I became invisible. I have a magical helmet. When I strap it on, nobody can see me. I don't even consider that they should notice a 300-pound hulk on a John Deere green BMW K-bike. It's my job to look for them. When I see that car pulling out of the side street or driveway I never think "He'll see me and stop." I KNOW he can't see me. I know he won't stop. I'm invisible. I know the car will always turn left in front of me, I know that the driver beside me will move over into my lane. I'm invisible. I admit that I ride long and hard sometimes. That old 1984 K-bike has just about 130,000 miles on it now. In thirty-two years of riding I have only been in one accident and that was my fault when I met the dreaded curve too sharp at speed too great. The invisibility theory has kept me aware of my surroundings and bumper-free for over three decades. Oh, your gorilla suit perception film is part of an experiment in perception by Daniel Simons at Harvard. You can find it in: Simons, D. J., & Chabris, C. F. Gorillas in our midst: sustained s. Perception 28 (9), 1999: 1059-1074. Dr. Simons' personal web page is at http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~dsimons/ He has links to some of his work. You can see the gorilla movie for yourself at http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~viscog/lab/demos.html Ride invisibly! Will "Troubadour" David Sun, 8 Sep 2002