Can visual(like illusions) misconceptions cause road accidents?

Answer 1

Indeed visual illusions and false visual queues can directly contribute to accidents.

I can think of three specific examples.

In Manchester, there is a road which suddenly narrows to two lanes after driving away from a three-lane crossroads. Because the road-narrows are situated underneath dense trees, and because the road-edging is usually filthy, at night, you simply DO NOT SEE the wall and pavement which stick out from the nearside, because the wall is black and unlit due to the trees.

How there has never been a fatal accident there, I will never know, considering how much new cement holds the wall together. It's a classic example of how road-planner and safety-officers fail miserably in their jobs, but then install speed cameras when enough people get killed.

I don't know whether it still exists, but in Nottingham there was a railway bridge, and the road approaching it had few markings. Consequently, you drove down what appeared to be a perfeclty good, wide road, only to discover that you were heading for a brick parapet at 40mph. A simple right arrow and a bit of cross-hatch paint would have solved the problem, but guess what?

The safety people hadn't noticed!

Near to where I live there are chevrons, which light up so brightly, the reflections totally blind a driver and make the nearside kerb completely invisible; and this is on a 60mph stretch of road. A simple line of red cat's eyes would do the job much better, but the safety officers decided otherwise. Their expensive and totally ineffective solution to everything is to slap speed-limits on roads where they didn't exist before, or to replace all the road-signs when they lower the limit by 10mph.

The most obvious illusions are those apparently straight-pieces of road, which have dangerous dips in them.

On the same stretch of road with the chevrons, there is just such a dip over a blind-brow, yet the "safety-people" have yet to get to grips with it, even though they've slapped speed-restrictions at other perfectly safe stretches of the same highway.
In fact, they actually ENCOURAGE people to overtake on the approach to the blind-brow, as the solid-line and dash road-markings come to an end BEFORE IT.

A old-lady was killed in a head on collision with a truck just over a year ago, so I would expect a speed-camera to be installed soon.

I'm sure that extending the white lines would be cheaper, but who am I to suggest such a thing when there are so many experts?

Makes you "THINK" doesn't it?

Answer 2

There's a place on the A719 nine miles south of Ayr, known as Electric Brae.
There's an optical illusion created so that car appears to be going uphill when it is in fact going down. Causes immense confusion and confused drivers can cause accidents.

Answer 3

Yes. especially if you are a bit tired. You may concentrate on the illusion to the exclusion of the real world for a bit too long. One night I "saw" a cross channel ferry crossing the A2 near Gravesend. In fact it was a lit-up filling station that seemed to be moving as there was a steady movement of headlights beneath it. The illusion lasted quite a few seconds till my point of view moved.

Answer 4

Most definitely.

Particularly at night.

For instance, a road may appear straight, but there is a dip in the road where it bends one way and then back again, which isn't apparent until you go over the brow.

Lines of trees by the side of the road may indicate that the road goes straight on, where in fact there is a sharp corner.
(The road doesn't follow the tree line).

Answer 5

Sure, haven't you ever watched roadrunner cartoons, where a tunnel would be painted on a canyon wall, wilie coyote would then slam into it (ususally on rocket powered skates) & then moments later a truck would emerge from it & flatten him again?

Here is the same illusion;

http://www.coolopticalillusions.com/crazy/cartoon_tunnel_illusion.htm


Seriously we can all misread situations sometimes, I always try & avoid making "snap" decisions when driving for this very reason, it's imporatnt to give your brain enough time to analyse what it is seeing.

Although it's not related heres some great optical illusions for you; I love number 4 "rotating snake" cool!

http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/index.html

Also check this out;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyPhCO3LrtQ


Okay totally avoided answering question properly but wasn't that interesting?

Answer 6

listed right here are some obtainable motives: l. driving below the effect of alcohol or drugs 2. overspeeding 3. overtaking on no-overtaking area/overtaking on curves 4. human beings crossing the line without looking and not making use of the pedestrian lane 5. defective brake gadget 6. unexpected coronary heart-attack on a similar time as driving 7. having races on the roads 8. lack of expertise of site visitors indications/driving rules 9. turning without making use of the blinkers l0. making use of the moblie telephone on a similar time as driving ll. no longer making use of iciness tires in iciness and summer time tires for summer time l2. driving whilst one is basically too sleepy that one falls asleep (primary for shipment drivers) l3. ice on the line makes streets slippery, so thick fog that it relatively is impossible to confirm 2 meters in front of you 14. tailing yet another motor vehicle l5. unexpected flat tire can deliver you flying out of your lane l6. attempting to beat the crimson on the site visitors mild l7. unexpected crossing of the line via a deer, a moose, elch or cow What could be achieved ? injuries will continuously ensue despite while you're very careful/careful jointly with your driving. removing the driving force's license of the those caught with drunken driving can help slightly (yet then, they might "purchase" someplace a license and be on the line back). there'll continuously highway rowdys everywhere, be it in u.s., Europe or any third international countries. there is basically no single answer to this problem.

Answer 7

Those stupid spinning wheeltrims that make a car look like it's moving when it stops at a junction, I've nearly crashed as I though the stupid bugger wasn't going to stop.