SMARTER presents workshop Looking Twice Isn’t Enough: a look at the root causes of motorcyclist crashes at the 2024 Michigan Traffic Safety Summit held March 12 & 13. This is an edited version of the presentation slides of DeAnna Ward, SMARTER treasurer, RiderCoach Trainer and Co-Chairman of the Michigan Motorcyclist Safety Action Team.
Category: News Releases
SMARTER Presents Workshop on Inattentional Blindness at 2023 SMSA National Training Summit.
SMARTER President Dan Petterson, Ed.D. presented a workshop session titled Inattentional Blindness: what drivers can do to avoid the Looked But Failed to See crash with motorcyclists at the national conference of the State Motorcycle Safety Association held in Columbus, OH September 13-16.
Blocked vision, inattentional blindness, saccadic masking, motion camouflage and size-arrival effect all come into play when drivers search for hazards at intersections.
Understanding of these phenomena underlie the “what can drivers do?” question. A video produced by Michigan Department of State which presents an enhanced search procedure developed by SMARTER was a part of the presentation and can be accessed at https://www.michigan.gov/looktwice.
SMARTER Presents Workshop on Ride-along Factors at 2023 SMSA National Training Summit.
SMARTER Board Vice-Chairperson Xu Simon, Ph.D. and President Dan Petterson, Ed.D. co-presented a session titled Fatal Motorcyclist Crashes – A Look at Ride-along Factors at the national conference of the State Motorcycle Safety Association held in Columbus, OH September 13-16.
A number of factors are regularly associated with fatal motorcyclists’ crashes. The term “ride-along” has been used to describe the factors frequently associated with fatal motorcyclist crashes.
Do the ride-along factors contribute to causing the crash, contribute to the fatality, both or neither? This presentation addressed these questions.
SMARTER presents at Michigan 2023 Traffic Safety Summit
SMARTER presented a breakout workshop session titled Wind in my Hair – The Cost of Going Without a Motorcycle helmet. The session provided a look at the Michigan motorcyclist crash and fatality data for the ten-year period following the repeal of the Michigan all-rider motorcycle helmet requirement, the economic cost associated with the repeal and an overview of MI specific research conducted following the repeal. The cost of the “adult choice” requirement compared to an all-rider requirement for the years 2012 – 2022 equals over $2 billion and 200-300 lives.
SMARTER President presents workshop at National SMSA Training Summit
This is the PowerPoint presentation Dr. Petterson used during his workshop presentation September 16, 2022. Understanding the four chances for error and the associated visual phenomena is helpful in furthering our understanding of the Looked But Failed to See (LBFTS) Right-of-Way Violation (ROWV) motorcyclist/car collision scenario. Knowing these four chances for error, and the associated phenomena, is helpful in formulating recommended actions for both riders and drivers that will lessen the chances of these types of collisions occurring. Included in this presentation is a description of a SMARTER developed driver search system that is an effective alternative to the old “look left, look right, look left again” search procedure.
Preventing Motorcycle Rider Deaths
This is a “My View” article published in the Holland (Michigan) Sentinel.
Remembering and honoring Donald L. Smith, Ph.D.
This is a special edition of Riding Smart, the SMARTER member newsletter. Dr. Don Smith, Professor Emeritus Michigan State University died on November 8, 2021. He was 93-years-old. Don had a 50-year career of service to the Michigan highway traffic and motorcyclist safety communities. He was the driving force behind the creation and 2007 incorporation of the Skilled Motorcyclist Association – Responsible, Trained and Educated Riders, Inc.
SMARTER Receives Award
SMARTER is recognized by the Michigan Governor’s Traffic Safety Advisory Commission (GTSAC). SMARTER was presented the Richard H. Austin Award for long-term contributions and commitment to traffic safety at a virtual awards ceremony held May 27, 2021. President Petterson makes Award Acceptance Comments.
SMARTER Opposes Maryland SB 712 – Helmet Repeal
SMARTER submits written testimony in opposition to Maryland all-rider helmet repeal – Maryland Written Testimony
SMARTER Reaches Out to State Rider Education Coordinators
SMARTER sends the Jan.-Feb 2021 Riding Smart to all rider education state coordinators. This edition of our member newsletter contains a large section summarizing some of the major research topic areas. Read our Cover Letter.