Does the visibility and conspicuity of the motorcyclist play a role in crashes?

Answer

In part of the motorcycle crashes it is probably a contributing factor that other road users do not or not timely notice the motorcyclist. It is often assumed that this is due to the fact that motorcycles are less visible and conspicuous than other, mostly larger vehicles. In 50% of the motorcycle crashes in the Netherlands another road user is involved (usually a car driver) [7]. Often the driver does not give the motorcyclist right of way. Drivers who were involved in such crashes usually report to have looked, but not to have seen the motorcyclist. The term for this is 'looked-but-failed-to-see' [28] [29].

Visibility research in Israel [30] has shown that 90% of the motorcyclists were seen in good time during the day, whereas the percentage dropped to 35% in twilight. Even if people were told to look for motorcyclists in video images, 13% of motorcyclists were still not timely noticed.

Part of fact sheet

Motorcyclists

In 2015, 47 motorcyclists died in traffic in the Netherlands.

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