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Difficulty: HardMotorcycles and Motor-Driven Cycles

Because a motorcycle has a smaller visual footprint than a passenger vehicle, drivers attempting to judge an oncoming motorcycle's speed and distance at an intersection tend to perceive it as traveling slower and being farther away than it actually is.

Answer: Answer

Answer

True
The statement is true because the human brain evaluates closing speed and distance largely based on how rapidly an object's image expands on the retina. Because motorcycles are significantly narrower than cars, their retinal expansion rate is smaller, leading drivers to falsely conclude the motorcycle is farther away and moving slower than its actual speed.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze visual perception factors involving motorcycles approaching intersections.
Identify that human visual depth perception relies heavily on visual expansion rate, which correlates with vehicle size.
Smaller visual objects expand visually at a rate that human perception interprets as moving slower or being at a greater distance.
2
Evaluate the traffic safety implications of the size-distance illusion.
Confirm that drivers frequently turn left across the path of an oncoming motorcycle due to misjudging its approach.
The driver incorrectly assumes there is sufficient time and space to complete the turn.

Key Concept

Visual perception errors and size-distance illusion when viewing oncoming motorcycles
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Topics

Motorcycles and Motor-Driven Cycles

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