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Why do drivers turn left across motorcyclists?

On Behalf of | Jul 18, 2024 | Motor Vehicle Accidents

People often say riding a motorcycle is dangerous. What really makes riding a motorcycle dangerous is that you have no protection against the poor decisions drivers on four wheels make.

One of the most dangerous things drivers do is turn left across an oncoming motorcyclist. What causes them to do this?

Drivers often underestimate an approaching vehicle’s speed

If a vehicle is coming toward you, you have fewer reference points to measure its progress than when it is coming across you. Drivers seem to have a particularly hard time gauging the speed of oncoming motorcycles.

Drivers often don’t see the motorcycle

It’s generally easier to spot something big than something small, and motorcycles are among the smallest vehicles on the road. Motorcycles can get hidden among cars, SUVs and other larger vehicles.

Drivers are not expecting to see a motorcycle

When someone driving a four-wheeled vehicle looks to see if it is clear they are typically looking to see if it is clear from any other four-wheeled vehicles. They are not intentionally discarding the possibility that a two-wheeler might be approaching, it’s just that as drivers, they are so used to four wheels that that is what their brain looks out for.

It can be explained by a theory known as inattentional blindness  – the brain sees what it expects to see and can look straight past things it does not expect to see. 

None of these explanations excuses a driver who injures a motorcyclist by turning left across them. Learning how to claim compensation will be crucial if it happens to you.