By H&H Admin

There are many reasons why motorcyclists are not always visible to other road users; the main one is that too many motorists drive distracted.  

Another relates to the simple fact that human vision has limits and cannot easily detect small objects moving at high speed.  

If motorists had vision similar to that of a hawk, humans would be better equipped to identify small, fast-moving objects from afar, which would go a long way towards reducing incidents between cars and motorcycles. 

The thing is, a motorcycle takes up very little space on the road compared to a car, bakkie, truck, or bus. Coupled with speed, motorcycles not only take up a small portion of space on the road but also takes up a small portion of a motorists’ vision.  

If a rider is travelling at high speed, a driver may not register the rider’s presence until it seemingly ‘pops up from nowhere’.

The answer is for all road users to be vigilant at all times and aware of their surroundings.  Using Bluetooth and indicators (yeas, those stalks on either side of your steering wheel), go a long way towards keeping the road a safe space for motorcyclists, and other motorists.