Safe Speed Forums

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4714067.stm

You could be right about the accidents, but I'll place my personal bet that the brain makes good use of the 'dead time'. Maybe we get to do some sort of background processing, or assess how things have changed after the 100mS blackout.

One thing you don't usually find in nature's designs is wasted resources.

_________________
Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

agreed, i imagine the research shows the visual processing is shut down, not the vital processes like object/hazard tracking.

And only for 100-150 milliseconds every 5 seconds or so. An emergency situation can arise in the second you do a speedo check (or fiddle with the radio, look for fags etc), but how much is going to happen in a tenth to a fifteenth of that time? And in such a short space of time is it going to make any real difference, i.e. how often can our reactions make a difference if we had an extra fifteenth of a second? All drivers are blinking every few seconds without crashing, so while it may be a theoretical risk I'd be surprised if blinking at the wrong moment causes crashes. Rapid blinking when recently unused air vents blow crap into your face... that might be another story.

_________________
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

Or the "long blink" when you are very tired and stuck on a boring motorway at a monotonous speed - these tend to increase: 1 second, 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 15 seconds, forever....

that happened to my bro in law doing a 24hour bike race.... just thoguht he'd rest his eyes for a second. next thing he knew he was on the floor.

(not on the public road i hasten to add)

I think the point is, if we're not noticing it, then it is probably processed similarly to the blind spot - ie the brain will "fill in" things for us.

Unfortunately, the brain doesn't fill in motorcyclists, etc...

True. Too many drivers aren't seeing them in the first place, and the brain can't fill in what doesn't know about. I think that's just because people don't always look properly though.

_________________
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

How about sneezing. Must have caused a few accidents. Had a few close calls myself since I started to suffer from hayfever.

_________________
Speed camera policy Kills

Sneezes are far more dangerous than blinking, as not only can you not see, but have limited control over your limbs and may even get a rapid sequence of them lasting 5 seconds or so.

The only thing you can do about a sneeze while driving is to lift off to gently slow and increase the gap to the vehicle in front to allow for your inevitably delayed reactions, and pray...

"SNEEZE KILLS"

Unfortunately you will never find out how many people have died as a result of sneeze caused accidents, they will be unexplained and probably get bundled in with speed related causes: "Don't know why he didn't brake earlier, must have been distracted... lets bundle that into going too fast"

I've had some close calls myself. if i have a passenger i warn them in i case make an involuntary action, if not i try to create enough space around me to allow for it, even removing feet from pedals and putting hazard lights on if the situation allows/dictates.

others - the itchy spot on back -usully happens on M/way at 70 when max concentrtion needed and you can't quite reach the spot.

- itchy eyeball syndrome - "got to rub that eye", problem is that it's partially shut which reduces distance perception, and leaves eye slightly out of focus after rubbing.
Others include the young lady in L1syndrome - A hazard to all van/Range Rover/Discovery drivers and HGV ,especially when added to a sports car and short skirt( by the young lady in 1 IN sports car)(Put in before B/Werk gets in )

So simple and yet so true

But then I have the outrageous attitude that
every single aspect of human influence is
corrupted in un-natural ways.

As strange as it may sound, I think there’s truth in this. Like many others, I notice the first second can take a long time when I turn to look at a clock. I’m guessing the brain is being ‘clocked’ faster for some other conscious process. Conversely, the opposite is true when tired. I once woke up in a room with a loud ticking clock to hear:

t-t-t-t-t-t-ti-ti-tick-tick – tick…… tick…… tick…… tick…… tick…… tick…… tick……

I can tell you that woke me up!

Botach: "Others include the young lady in L1syndrome - A hazard to all van/Range Rover/Discovery drivers and HGV ,especially when added to a sports car and short skirt( by the young lady in 1 IN sports car)(Put in before B/Werk gets in )"

What's this have a pop a B/Werk night ??

I suffer from a slightly different version of the above syndrome, girlfriend can be verrrry distracting.

_________________
Gordon Brown saying I got the country into it's current economic mess so I'll get us out of it is the same as Bomber Harris nipping over to Dresden and offering to repair a few windows.

Chaos, panic and disorder - my work here is done.

http://www.wildcrafts.co.uk

Back to the blink idea - TV -625 lines per sec - picture reforming but too quick for brain -same idea at movies -

thats for eye - next listen to a CD - scanned at twice (at least) highest frequency - so gaps too short for ear/brain to work out - same principle as used in telephony in PCM -

Point is brain probably works round shut down time??

_________________
lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on