The Science Behind Look Twice Save A Life
Sometimes great ideas become so cliche` that we don't even think about what they mean anymore. Since we have a nice warm weekend coming up, "Look twice, save a life" is a piece of advice you should think about for a moment.
One of the reasons that cars will sometimes pull out in front of a clearly visible motorcycle or bicycle is because the driver's brain isn't looking for motorcycles; it's looking for cars. Once you've been a licensed driver for a while, many things become automatic and we don't really think about them. Looking both ways before you pull out at an intersection is one of those things we just "do". The problem is, our brains can get very micro focused and reason "okay, there are no cars" even though there might actually be a motorcycle in plain sight. I know it sounds crazy, but there are numerous brain challenges to prove this. In fact, it's a common tactic used by magicians - give your audience one specific thing to focus on and they are much easier to misdirect.
One of the most common things heard from drivers who have just hit a pedestrian, bicyclist or motorcyclist is "I didn't see them.", or "They came out of nowhere." Obviously, neither of those things are possible. The reality is the driver didn't see them because their brain wasn't looking for them; it was looking for other cars.
Nobody is perfect. We will still have blood spilled on Montana highways this summer and that is tragic; however, if you make a conscious effort to "retrain your brain", you're less likely to cause an accident.