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news
Direct Line Invisible Cyclists infographicInvisible cyclists: Eye-tracking experiment finds drivers don't see more than 1 in 5 riders (+ video)
More than one in five cyclists go unseen by motorists on the road, according to an experiment using eye tracking technology conducted for the insurance company Direct Line, confirming the extent of the ‘SMIDSY’ – ‘Sorry mate, I didn’t see you. Younger drivers missed spotting nearly one in three riders, and female motorists one in four. By contrast, just 4 per cent of what Direct Line terms "jaywalking" pedestrians were not seen, and 15 per cent of motorcyclists.
Motorists who took part in the experiment wore “specialist glasses that pinpoint the exact focus of the eye by tracking microscopic movements in the cornea,” said the company, adding that film footage “enabled researchers to establish exactly where drivers focus their vision, which was often at clouds, buildings and passers-by.” Here’s a short video of it in operation.
The experiment was conducted in three cities – London, Oxford, and Sheffield – and according to Direct Line the issue is most prevalent in the capital, where motorists fail to see three in ten cyclists.
That’s despite the growth in cycling in the city in recent years, that suggests we’re some way from seeing a ‘Safety in numbers’ effect kick in there, whereby the more people there are on bikes, the more motorists are likely to register their presence and drive accordingly.
In Oxford, which has the second highest levels of cycling in England after Cambridge, 20 per cent of riders went unseen, and in Sheffield, 15 per cent.
Researchers found examples of motorists taking their eyes of the road to adjust sat-nav devices and in one case navigate using a hand-held smartphone, and Direct Line says that 24 per cent of riders are “invisible” to drivers using a sat-nav device, compared to 19 per cent where the motorist does not use one.
The biggest difference in the proportion of drivers registering the presence of cyclists was by age. Some 21 per cent of cyclists were unnoticed by those aged 50 or over, but 31 per cent among motorists aged between 20 and 29 years. Again, that’s a cause for concern given that younger people have better eyesight on the whole.
Vicky Bristow, spokesperson for Direct Line car insurance said “For the first time we know exactly where people focus their eyes when driving and the results are frightening.
“UK roads are busy and congested and as a result millions of cyclists are going unseen.
“Blaming motorists seems like an easy option, but this issue can only be really addressed if both motorists and cyclists accept responsibility.
“Encouraging all road users to be extra vigilant will certainly improve road safety but tackling an issue of this scale really requires top-down change.
“Successive governments have encouraged local authorities to adopt policies to make cycling safer in the past but our research highlights that this issue is still widespread.”
Drivers % that failed to spot cyclists Sat nav drivers 23.7 Non-sat nav drivers 19.0 Female drivers 25.6 Male drivers 17.1 Drivers aged 20-29 31.1 Drivers aged 30-39 20.7 Drivers aged 40-49 21.6 Drivers aged 50-59 20.9 All drivers 22.0
Source: Direct Line Motor Insurance
One thing we wondered was whether the cyclist wearing hi-viz clothing had any impact on their visibility to motorists – a subject of some debate in comments to stories here on road.cc - so we asked Direct Line whether the clothing cyclists sported had any impact.
The company told us that the study considered a lot of data, including speed cameras, pedestrians, road signs etc, and the lack of vigilance motorists display towards cyclists was what it chose to focus on.
It added that had the survey been commissioned specifically into cyclists, then that would have been one of the areas it would have looked at, and that it is likely to undertake such research in the future.
As for that comment in the first paragraph about "jaywalking" pedestrians, the term of course is widely used in the United States where there are much more severe restrictions on where pedestrians can legally cross a road compared to England, Wales and Scotland; here, pedestrians are not allowed on motorways, but other than that can cross the road except where a specific 'no pedestrians' sign is in place, although official advice is for them to wait until it is safe to do so. Jaywalking is an offence in Northern Ireland, but one that is rarely enforced.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- polainm 8 min 12 sec ago
What is wrong with so many non-cyclists in the UK?
- Sbloke 35 min 14 sec ago
Only now they've updated it and removed the screenshot - no idea why... https://www.facebook.com/100064544418553/posts/pfbid035uCiihTYcLaQcUj7J7...
- Hirsute 1 hour 7 min ago
Turns left off the main dual carriageway road from the lane marked right turn....
- Hirsute 1 hour 13 min ago
Happy World Bicycle Day #bikewanker (the driver obvs ! )
- Suvi Loponen 1 hour 15 min ago
A very valid point and I fully agree with you that driving to do bikepacking trips should never become the default, and for sure owning a car...
- Rendel Harris 1 hour 28 min ago
My Brompton-riding mate locks his up outside the pub when it's busy because it's quite an unwieldy package to be carrying into a crowded space,...
- quiff 2 hours 2 min ago
I'm very much with you except for the notice point - roads near me are frequently disrupted by closures for e.g. marathons, concerts, football, and...
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45 comments
Funny, I've often thought about how/when an experiment like this would be conducted while I've been out riding - the results are pretty much identical to what I expected!
Sorry still trying to align these two phrases in my head
"... Blaming motorists seems like an easy option ..."
and
"... drivers focus their vision, which was often at clouds, buildings and passers-by ..."
It's just not working
quote: Blaming motorists seems like an easy option, but this issue can only be really addressed if both motorists and cyclists accept responsibility.
How exactly can a cyclist be responsible for a driver watching a cloud, looking at someone waling by instead of the road? If i'm wearing lights and/or bright clothing, or it is day time. What else can I be expected to do? seriously, I am interested...any ideas other than drive a car?
No surprises but good to see it studied. I have done exactly the same kind of testing on websites.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccade
Short version - your brain makes stuff up as your vision skips around. And mostly makes up a picture between states of vision and *may* completely skip the cyclist/pedestrian/motorbike in the middle 'frame'.
Once you know that everything kinda makes sense - they really didn't see you! However good and careful driving can compensate for this obviously.
The fact it's based on eye tracking shows it's not about cyclists not making themselves visible, it's about drivers not looking.
Riding defensively puts you in a driver's eyeline, no amount of hi-vis will get you seen if you're riding along the kerb.
Surely you don't need to look directly at a cyclist or even completely focus on them to know that they are there. I focus on things other than the road when I'm driving (e.g. spring lambs) but my field of vision is quite enough to passively take in the road and what's on it too.
It would be interesting to do the experiment with cyclists. I would guess that cyclists are much less likely to fail to see motor vehicles. If so, why?
That's what I was thinking. What are we supposed to do? Other than disguising myself as a cloud, obviously.
"Blaming motorists seems like an easy option, but this issue can only be really addressed if both motorists and cyclists accept responsibility."
Try telling that to a judge! oh.. wait..
I give up, really I do. Jesus H Christ.
Bloody hell, did she even read the study?
It's also worth pointing out that there are pretty shocking stats for motorcycles too, lets not pretend this is limited to cyclists.
Another point is that the use of the term jaywalker, meaning a person crossing illegally (not possible in the UK AFAIK) or irresponsibly (of course, possible anywhere) is in my view pushes responsibility from the car driver onto the pedestrian crossing. What constitutes a jaywalker? Anyone crossing the road?
This article:
http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/raf-pilot-teach-cyclists/ was also a very interesting read on what drivers do and don't see - it came form the perspective of an RAF fighter pilot, someone who knows a thing or two about seeing hazards and reacting in microseconds! Very similar conclusions to this study.
Typo in the headline on homepage, FYI: CYLISTS rather than cyclists, presumably?
The only thing about this is how do you know what the brain is recieving on the peripehery? From the video there's a cyclist heading in the same direction as the car and they never recieve a red dot of attention but it doesn't mean that the driver doesn't know they are there.
Hey Crazy-Legs, thanks for posting the pilot article...well worth a read.
Makes me much more inclined to have flashing lights during the day as well as night.
Well they can't very well blame the people who pay them their wages can they so the two wheeled demons, who apparently don't even pay for the roads, can take some responsibility for their own injuries. I do despair
That film footage is bloody terrifying
It seems like allowing sat navs into the car has normalised the use of gadgets at the wheel, I think a lot of people think it is perfectly ok to use a smartphone while driving. after all its just a box with a screen on
Also astonished to see promotion for 'in car wifi' or 'google send to car' features in new cars and a whopping great touchscreen in the centre console - it's just insane putting those kind of distractions in front of a driver. Surely there must be some legislation about what can and can't be placed there?
So who wants to brainstorm ways of making drivers look at cyclists instead of clouds, buildings or what was likely lovely lassies? Its obviously my responsibility to make sure drivers pay attention to their driving.
Its also worth noting that drivers are almost equally not noticing motorcyclists. I've always thought that drivers only look for big boxes of metal.
They will happily see a 'cyclist but just not register their existence.
Would guess a pedestrian crossing where there is no crossing, or crossing against the lights. Which is more of a mouthful.
But yes, not really relevant terminology in UK.
But human peripheral vision is not good, and we have a tendency to make up things which we expect to see (see pilot link above). You cannot, and should not rely on peripheral vision while driving. It only take a moment to move your eyes or head.
In any case, it doesn't explain the discrepancy with pedestrians.
it's clear that we are often not seen. However, I would question the test based on peripheral visison. If I am looking at the car as the user was doing - I see the cyclist in my peripheral vision - that doesn't mean I don't register that they are there [just because I don't look directly at them]. Best advice is to ride with purpose and make your self seen - also don't ride very close to the curb as this will lead to motorists coming way too close (attemting to stay in lane whilst passing you).
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of oh bloody hell where did those nuns on bikes come from?
Clouds? I mean, seriously, clouds?
I would like to the see the make/model of vehicle involved in an accident with a cyclist. I would wager a fecking great big 4x4;s are right up there as the owners are incapable of driving safely
Agree. I tested some new cars recently and was shocked at the new touch screen functionality. firsty its distracting as there is a vast amount of functionality and secondly its positioned so badly it takes your eye completely off the road. Yes VW Golf, a terrible piece of design. I refused to buy on these grounds.
I second this, i drove a new golf on hire and the touch screen was a nightmare to use. It might be intuitive once you're used to it but trying to do it while unfamiliar and driving just felt dangerous.
Ride in the driver's eyeline rather than over to the left, and turn your head to look behind you periodically (make sure the road is clear ahead). The latter can make the driver become aware of you and pass you safely, or will give you a clue if they are on autopilot and so you might need to take action.
i guess one solution is to slow cars down, at least if they do hit something they will do it slowly and cause less damage.
bring back the red flag man!
'cos they're bigger, and so less likely to fall into a 'saccade': http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/raf-pilot-teach-cyclists/
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