Inattentional blindness often leads to car accidents. It is especially common in motorcycle accidents, but it can occur in any type of vehicle crash.
Essentially, when someone looks quickly at a scene, there is not enough time for the brain to fully process all of the information. To compensate, the brain prioritizes what it believes is most important and filters out other details. It can also fill in gaps in a person’s field of vision with what that person expects to see, making them believe they genuinely saw something that was not actually there.
This can lead to car accidents because a driver may look directly at another vehicle without actually seeing it. The brain may not prioritize that vehicle, or, as is often the case with motorcycles, the driver may not be expecting to see that type of vehicle, so it is filtered out.
Slowing down
One of the best ways for drivers to combat this issue is to slow down and take an extra moment to fully take in their surroundings before making any driving maneuver. For example, someone pulling out of a driveway may quickly glance in both directions before entering the street. Ideally, they should take another moment to look again and allow their brain enough time to process what they are seeing.
Unfortunately, this does not always happen. Many people are in a rush. They are hurrying to work or school. They may believe they have checked traffic carefully enough to drive safely, but in reality, they have not.
If you have been injured in a car accident caused by one of these drivers, even if they claim they never saw your vehicle, it is important to understand what legal options are available to seek the financial compensation you deserve.