BE SEEN – Motorcycling
By Kevin Williams
Kevin Williams outlines the ‘Science of Being Seen’ in this article. This is particularly relevant to motorcyclists, and so the BMW Club has invited him to be our guest presenter at Uffington in March 2022.
WHAT IT IS– a magician knows that the ‘world’ we see has been built entirely inside our brains. The magician knows that the audience about to attend the magic show understands that they are going to be fooled, yet still can’t spot the tricks. When we ride a motorcycle or a scooter, we become the magician and the drivers and other road users all around us are our audience. One of our magic powers is invisibility, but there are a couple of extra deceptions involved. Yet the motorcyclist isn’t aware that he / she is a magician and about to fool the audience. And the motorcyclist’s audience of drivers doesn’t know the biker is a magician either.
The ‘Science of Being Seen’ (SOBS) presentation is an in-depth investigation of the most common motorcycle crash of all – the ‘Sorry Mate I Didn’t See You’ or ‘SMIDSY’ collision. based firmly on scientific research into these crashes – and reveals the secrets of our very own motorcycling invisibility show.
HISTORY– the SOBS presentation was originally written over the winter of 2011/12 as a proactive accident prevention module for the pilot Biker Downcourses developed by Kent Fire and Rescue Service. Our team in Kent was awarded a Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Award at the end of 2012 and an insurance industry award in 2013. ‘Biker Down’ has since been picked up by most fire services in the UK as well as the UK military, and a version of SOBS was used by many Biker Down teams until 2020 – I personally delivered SOBS for KFRS at Rochester until the COVID crisis in March 2020.
In 2018 and 2019 I took SOBS to New Zealand, as one of a team of international speakers on the nationwide Shiny Side Up rider safety initiative. We travelled around the country to visit over a dozen venues on each occasion. I reprised the role as a virtual speaker in 2021.
In 2020, SOBS was broadcast to viewers worldwide as one of the presentations featured on the US-based REVV talks series of better biking webinars from riding experts around the world. SOBS was also a featured presentation in the spring 2021 RoadSafetyGB ‘Powered Two Wheeler’ safety week.
And of course, since 2012 I have been delivering SOBS to clubs and rider groups around the UK, both in person and most recently via Zoom.
BACKGROUND– there’s a free-to-access website at www.scienceofbeingseen.org which gives the background research into each topic covered on SOBS, including references.
AIDE-MEMOIRE– there’s a short paperback which acts as a reminder to the presentation – the cost is £9.99 which gets ploughed back into the research and hosting costs which can be ordered direct from my publisher: www.lulu.com/spotlight/SurvivalSkills
PRESENTER: Kevin Williams MSc– inveterate biker, serial writer, scientific thinker… rider coach, safety advocate, speaker, creator of ‘Science Of Being Seen’ (SOBS) – is an independent BTEC-qualified rider coach. With the benefit of a research-based Master’s degree, Kevin’s work to improve riding standards has always had a strong science background. Kevin has worked with thousands of riders since 1997, acted as a consultant to the TRL on rider training investigations, and served with several UK-based road safety projects, including Bucks County Council’s ‘Be a Better Biker’ scheme, Somerset Road Safety Partnership’s innovative multi-format ‘Rider Skills’ days at Castle Coombe circuit and the KFRS ‘Biker Down’ sessions and their Brands Hatch-based ‘Ride Skills’ days.
The Be-Seen Screen
The Be-Seen Screen is the latest road safety innovation for motorists, both simple and effective and designed to warn other road users of breakdowns. The Be-Seen Screen is the brainchild of entrepreneur, Richard Edwards, who says:
“For the thousands of people driving on busy roads every day the Be-Seen Screen is a straightforward and affordable option that will improve visibility. It could provide vital extra seconds of awareness that can help to prevent serious accidents. If there’s a breakdown in lane one and with hard shoulders in use, motorists are very exposed. With a Be-Seen Screen on board, if your vehicle fails on a rainy afternoon in poor light conditions, you can have a bright, reflective warning sign in place in moments. By pressing the powerful suction pads to the rear windscreen or boot you can clearly and securely display the distinctive chevrons and ‘broken down’ message. “
