Eyesight And Attention (3/3)
Eyesight and Attention
During the introduction of Moto Instincts, the different types of awareness that are active while riding a motorcycle were explained. Personal awareness was covered in Mentality Hazards and is largely psychological in nature. It deals with how the motorcyclist thinks and how they relate to their surroundings. Motorcycle awareness was covered in Operational Hazards and is largely tactile in nature. It dealt with the basic physics of motorcycles and how to start building a bond with the machine. From here on out, the topics to come in the remaining chapters will shift to external hazards. When we start to dissect the external hazards that the motorcyclist will encounter is when a discussion about eyesight and attention is necessary. We could discuss hazards for days but the knowledge about individual hazards will be completely overshadowed by the misdirection of eyesight and attention should the rider have poor management of either. In order to uphold high levels of risk management effectiveness, the rider must learn how to manage their eyesight and attention by working with their physiology. The visual system is the most important sense for spotting and reacting to danger in a timely fashion. Attention is of critical importance as it must be where it is needed at all times. Deviations of attention at inopportune times can have disastrous results. With both of these aspects of riding being so important, the motorcyclist is lucky that there are ways to train habits to supply the best results.
The first thing that needs to be considered is that attention is tied tightly to the visual system. Eyesight is such an important part of our physiology that the brain grew extensions out of itself towards the eye sockets! The retina (the back part of the eye that receives light) is actually part of the brain. As our nervous system evolved eyesight, attention was ingrained into it. While it is possible to split eyesight and attention, in general, what the eyes are doing will guide attention in the same fashion. To put it another way, what is done with eyesight is also what is done with attention. Recognizing this relationship is the first step in avoiding the mismanagement of attention as well as building good habits to guide attention efficiently. For the literature to come, keep the relationship between eyesight and attention at the forefront of your mind.
Eyesight/Attention Mismanagement
Let’s cover the common ways that attention can be directed poorly. These types of misdirections can be lethal, and they all start by using the visual system poorly.
Target Fixation
A term that is very common with general operation is “look where you want to go.” This piece of advice is normally given to aid the guidance of a vehicle through a turn. Looking further down the intended travel path results in an increase of accuracy for the intended machine trajectory. Motorcycles are no different. Looking where you want to go will guide the motorcycle towards the focal point of your vision. It is nearly impossible to navigate where the eyes aren’t focusing because attention is focused where the eyes are looking.
Target Fixation combines “look where you want to go,” with a Panic Reaction. When a rider happens upon an unforeseen hazard, the eyes can become “affixed” to the hazard as the Panic Reaction causes the rider to freeze. This is a very deadly situation that must be corrected immediately. If the eyes are focused on a hazard, then so is the attention of the rider. If real danger lies ahead of the motorcyclist, attention needs to be diverted into a Secondary Ride Plan, not at the hazard itself. Failure to break the eyesight from the hazard will lock the attention of the rider onto the hazard when it is truly needed elsewhere. Contacting the hazard is very common in these situations if the rider cannot break the visual Target Fixation with the hazard. In the introduction, the short story laying out a crash was set into motion when the motorcyclist became Target Fixated upon a large stone. Guess where you will go if you stare at a large stone that has appeared from under a car? Straight at it. Target Fixation can happen with all sorts of variables: edge of the road during a turn, animals, objects on the road, poles, trees, vehicles, etc. All should be addressed the same way. In these sorts of situations, break out of Target Fixation by remembering, “LOOK WHERE I NEED TO GO.” When risk rises suddenly, there is always a route that the motorcyclist needs to go. Find that route, and look at it.
Tunnel Vision
Tunnel Vision is similar to Target Fixation, but does not include a Panic Reaction and is more consistent with inattention. Instead of focusing on the big picture, too much attention is focused in a direction or on an object. Locking attention onto specific objects or directions for too long make it very likely to miss hazards or changing variables in the surroundings. The attention of the rider should be shifting and flowing from one area to the next as it is needed, but never locked on one aspect for too long. An example of this would be using large amounts of attention on the car directly in front of you instead of what traffic flow is doing up ahead. In such a situation, large disruptions of traffic flow up ahead could be missed by the rider who is Tunnel Visioned on the vehicle right in front of them. In this example, the rider would be reactive to unfolding events rather than proactive. Unless something requires your attention, try to spread your attention into the surroundings as much as possible.
A good habit to avoid adding Tunnel Vision to Flow State is by applying the 20/20 Rule. Every 20 seconds, focus your attention into a 20 metre circle around you briefly and notice any unique variables at that present moment. The 20/20 Rule builds a habit of staying in tune with one’s surroundings. Eventually it won’t be necessary to remind yourself to pay attention to your surroundings because you will do it naturally as you ride.
Distractions
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Hazards will go unnoticed if the rider is not looking for them when they have become distracted. The Ride Plan is the primary risk management tool for the motorcycle rider. It needs constant care and protection from outside threats. Attention deviation from the Ride Plan must be kept to a minimum. A good rule of thumb regarding Ride Plans and attention is “2 seconds is too long.” Attention should never deviate from the Ride Plan for more than 2 consecutive seconds. Ever. A lot can change in 2 seconds, so keep attention where it belongs, on the Ride Plan. Note that this rule of thumb refers to a rider with excellent Lead Time and low levels of current risk. Situations with increased risk levels such as high speeds, heavy traffic, or poor Line of Sight, should see attention deviations only if necessary, and, for as little time as possible. Do not succumb to distractions, and protect the Ride Plan at all times.
Visual ADHD
Visual ADHD could be thought of as the eyes darting around constantly looking at variables in the surroundings. Having very active eyes can be somewhat proactive for spotting hazards, but there are shortcomings, as well as negative outcomes. Scattering where the eyes are looking will also scatter attention. To achieve APE Flow State, there must be synergy between what the rider is doing, what the rider is planning, versus what is going on around them. Streamlining attention is what allows the rider to consistently “read and react” to their environment. Additionally, the eyes will be the most sensitive to visual stimuli when they are largely stationary. Bouncing the visual system around does not only disrupt attention/flow, but also hinders the visual system itself. Imagine trying to watch a movie by sporadically moving the eyes from one corner of the screen to the next. With such a method, the observer would struggle to discern any fine details of what it is they are watching. The same is true about riding. If they eyes are constantly being shifted haphazardly, the rider will be less sensitive to the visual nuances of their surroundings.
Peripheral Perception
There are many easy ways to mismanage eyesight and attention. If good visual habits are not adopted early, the Flow State of the new rider will contain some forms of attentional mismanagement. To make matters worse, our lives have many qualities that promote eyesight/attention habits which do not favour the motorcycle rider. Human life has evolved to a state where we are constantly focusing our eyes on detail. We read books, watch movies, do endless computer work, scroll on our phones, often for hours on end. Much of our culture resides in a narrow, high definition application of our senses.
However, before the shift to hyper-focused lifestyles, our eyes had a more important task; spotting danger. Long before motorcyclists were dodging vehicles, humans were dodging predators such as bears and sabre tooth tigers. Would using our eyesight and attention in a narrow fashion be useful for spotting life-threatening danger? Assuredly less useful than our eyes evolved to be. Only the centre of our vision uses acute light receptors to pick out fine detail. The rest of our vision is filled with peripheral receptors that are poor for picking out detail, but excellent at picking up movement and colour contrasts. By focusing our attention into our acute light receptors only (the centre of our vision), we effectively filter out a lot of information that our eyes are absorbing. When focusing intently on an activity such as computer work, the precise focus of our visual system is also precisely focusing our attention onto a narrow point. Using our eyes and attention in this fashion is comparable to looking through binoculars and will be referred to as Binocular Vision.
If one observes animals, it is easily noticeable that they scan for danger by using all of their vision, not just the centre. If an animal suspects a potential threat, they will stand still and gaze with their eyes (along with their other senses), scanning for predators with their peripherals. When scanning in this way, the visual focus could be compared to panoramic view. If the animal sees or hears a threatening stimuli, they will then focus large amounts of their attention to that point. Human’s senses and attention work in the same fashion. We can tap into these primal neurological pathways by using Panoramic Vision to guide our riding while reserving Binocular Vision for assessing hazards and navigating Ride Plans precisely. You can increase hazard detection, improve reaction time, and cut down on misdirected eye movement and attention by adopting Peripheral Perception.
Hazard Radar
Learning to use Panoramic/Binocular Vision effectively is an integral part of Moto Instincts. Generally, the rider should be spreading attention into their peripherals to look everywhere at the same time. We are to be extensively covering motorcycle hazards in this course; the types of hazards, where they usually are, how to deal with them, and how to spot them. The big take away here is that with prior knowledge, you can train your peripherals to scan for visual cues, at which point you focus your eyes and attention to assess what triggered your peripherals. This effectively turns your eyes into a highly efficient hazard targeting system. Scan. Lock on. Assess. React (if necessary). Scan. Lock on. Asses. React. Rinse and repeat. The hazard clues that will be encountered are colour contrasts, pavement abnormalities, movement, and dangerous traffic formations. The clues will be included within the individual hazard sections to teach you what to look for. As this method becomes more natural, it will allow you to detect and process hazards rapidly while allowing your eyesight to direct attention in the way that evolution intended.
Peripheral Perception is vital to “unlock” our attention, but may not be an easy transition for everyone. If you struggle with the unfocusing of eyesight/attention, an introductory step would be building these skills while walking or driving a vehicle. Try to keep eye movement low while lightly unfocusing the eyes, and then navigate your body or vehicle by using your peripherals. Practising while walking or driving will allow for Peripheral Perception skills to build while engaged in a less dangerous activity. These skills are then applied to riding by creating the Ride Plan, and then holding one’s gaze above the end of the Ride Plan. At this point the rider should have a relaxed visual focus which allows their attention to be diverted to the area surrounding their Ride Plan. Note: The aim is to lightly unfocus the eyes. Riding with completely unfocused eyes would be detrimental.
Baby Steps for Peripheral Perception
- Walking or hiking while avoiding certain walking path characteristics (avoiding cracks, rocks, roots, or certain coloured tiles for example).
- Walking in a crowded area (mall, school). Hold the gaze straight ahead, and while progressing forward, track the movement of as many people as possible.
- Driving a regular vehicle. Hold the gaze out in front of the car (look where you want to go!) and track your lane position, as well as, the position of other vehicles without looking at them. This emulates motorcycle Peripheral Perception well because it is in the same environment, and the individual need not worry about stability or traction.
APE Risk Management System Summary
The APE Risk Management System is a fairly complex way of classifying risk and determining plans to manage that risk. It might be necessary to reference this chapter to brush up on specific terms to ensure proper understanding and application of the risk management techniques. At the end of the coming chapters, The APE Risk Management System will be reviewed in order to summarize how the important concepts directly relate to the hazard categories to come. Now that we have laid out a concise way to break down hazards, let’s start to take a look at the motorcyclist’s environment.
