Sorry mate I didn't see you-why car drivers pull out on us
 

I have just spotted this about why car drivers don't see cyclists and motorcyclists. It trys to explain why even when drivers turn their heads in your direction they still pull out without seeing you, although it makes no mention of lack of education and awareness of smaller roads users that drivers particularly in the UK seem to suffer from.

What an RAF pilot can teach us about being safe on the road

for me uk have leading campaigns about smidsy situations, just seek on youtube, most of the time its our fault , and you will see why when watching videos, we always think we are smartest, and in right position and everything, we ussualy dont ride defensive

Safety.
 

Any and all good information on safety is welcome and useful so here's some more I've come across.

Our eyes are better at seeing movement than making out stationary detail:

I was once riding on a town road with three lanes, two for same direction traffic and a bus lane coming the other way. I had a car coming straight at me as the driver had crossed a junction instead of turning off. I immediately swerved my bike right and left a few times and the driver shot into the bus lane and past me.

A UK university did some research that found this: At a junction a beginner scans the whole area to left and right equally, while an experienced car or bike user looks where they have seen traffic coming from in the past. ie not close to the pavement (cyclists) and not out near the centre line (filtering motorcyclists). So knowing this it helps to position yourself where you are expected to be.

This information was discovered by using goggles with a laser facing into the retina to measure the direction in which the wearer was looking.

It is worth thinking of the implications of riding in a country using the other side of the road than you're used to and thinking where drivers will be looking.

Lindsay.