A Fighter Pilot’s Guide to surviving on the roads

[caterhamboy]

Interesting.

http://www.portsmouthctc.org.uk/a-fighter-pilots-g...

[Martin_Hx]

Very interesting! Thanks for posting

[mr2j]

I wish I was a fighter pilot.

[mcbook]

Nice article! The stuff about saccades is really interesting and gives great insight into the limitations of our eyes/brains. I'll certainly be adopting the recommended actions - I think I do them to a limited extent already but will try harder ;-)

[vx220]

Really good lesson there

I wonder if the younger generation are making things worse for themselves focusing on their xbox/PlayStation driving games?

I guess this doesn't help develop your peripheral vision at all!

[Pete317]

This should be required reading for everyone who ventures near a road.

It's only on one minor point which I do not fully agree, where he speaks about slowing down for a junction or roundabout meaning you're no longer on a collision course. It could equally be that slowing down might put you on a collision course which you might not have been on had you not slowed down. Nonetheless, it's still better to improve your likelihood of seeing the other vehicle by slowing down.

[budfox]

When you're at a party, how do you know when there's a pilot in the room?

Oh, you'll know.

[David87]

And yet people still moan about modern cars having DRLs.

[LordHaveMurci]

I'm sure that being blind in my right eye makes me a better, safer driver as I over compensate.

A great read, sadly those that need it most probably won't read it.

[Rumblestripe]

A very informative read. Thanks for posting.

[GravelBen]

budfox said:

When you're at a party, how do you know when there's a pilot in the room?

The same way you know there's a vegan?

[SteveSteveson]

GravelBen said:

budfox said:

When you're at a party, how do you know when there's a pilot in the room?

The same way you know there's a vegan?

Do pilots suffer from bad gas?

[Otispunkmeyer]

Remember reading that... I've known about saccading for a long time, because I was a geek and watched dull documentaries. But its a genuinely useful thing to know about and I'm not sure how many people driving about today have any idea at all about it.

I believe as well that peripheral vision is more sensitive to certain colors than the central part of our vision. We have many more cones for seeing reds and greens that blues and at night, where rod-vision is dominant (as they are more sensitive) rods are almost totally unresponsive to red light! This is why ships bridges and things are lit up in red at night because it still affords you the ability to have good night vision, whilst the cones can pick up the red to actually see what you're doing.

[Howroyd]

Interesting enough

However, TL;DR - Look thoroughly and carefully at junctions

[Conscript]

Very interesting. I thought I was pretty clued up about the way our vision works, but I've never heard of the saccades phenomenon before.

Also pertinent is his point about lighting and contrast. I commute on an east/west parallel and in the winter, so many people don't bother with lights because the sun is blazing - not realising that it's right behind them rendering them invisible in my mirrors

[krisdelta]

Very interesting, well found and thanks for sharing!

[TartanPaint]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX-5J_FMdOY

[DIW35]

Pete317 said:

This should be required reading for everyone who ventures near a road.

It's only on one minor point which I do not fully agree, where he speaks about slowing down for a junction or roundabout meaning you're no longer on a collision course. It could equally be that slowing down might put you on a collision course which you might not have been on had you not slowed down. Nonetheless, it's still better to improve your likelihood of seeing the other vehicle by slowing down.

If you weren't previously on a collision course then you should have already spotted the other vehicle due to it's relevant movement to your own. What he's advocating is to slow down so that if you were on a collision course, you stand a better chance of spotting the other vehicle by introducing relevant movement.

[austinsmirk]

brilliant, well done for posting.

Must admit, it does my head in as a cyclist, that other cyclists and motorbike riders do not wear hi viz or high coloured clothes/helmets.

you're vulnerable compared to a protected car driver: give yourself a chance of being seen.

even worse are those without helmets or no or poor lighting on bad days or night time.

you might think you look great in team sky's colours, but in reality can you be seen well enough ?

[Pete317]

DIW35 said:

Pete317 said:

This should be required reading for everyone who ventures near a road.

It's only on one minor point which I do not fully agree, where he speaks about slowing down for a junction or roundabout meaning you're no longer on a collision course. It could equally be that slowing down might put you on a collision course which you might not have been on had you not slowed down. Nonetheless, it's still better to improve your likelihood of seeing the other vehicle by slowing down.

If you weren't previously on a collision course then you should have already spotted the other vehicle due to it's relevant movement to your own. What he's advocating is to slow down so that if you were on a collision course, you stand a better chance of spotting the other vehicle by introducing relevant movement.

Not necessarily - it's entirely possible to have no movement relative to a vehicle with which you're not on a collision course.
However, as soon as you start slowing down then you will create the relative movement and so stand a better chance of seeing it in time.

Edited by Pete317 on Friday 31st July 15:06