Motion Induced Blindness(MIB)
Let's play an optical illusion. Focus on the green dot in the center for a few seconds and we notice that the yellow dots disappear and reappear. The illusion is caused by the brain discarding some information,which it assumes it knew.
So, brain simply does not process some of the input, and things “disappear”. A common statement from drivers who are into crashes is, particularly ones in which the other vehicle approached from the side, is: “I never saw it coming!” And they really didn’t see too,due to MIB.
What causes it?
When we are driving on a straight highway,we fix our eyes on the center and use our peripheral vision to process information from the sides. But,if we focus on the center for a longer period,like above,our brain starts discarding info from peripheral vision.
This becomes very critical in driving as if we are driving on a high speed highway for a longer period,and we are not rotating our eye balls or not checking mirrors often, we will miss out on a car or a truck or an animal coming from the side.
Pilots are trained to look at all sides to process more information from the peripheral vision and increase situational awareness. This is essential for survival in combat and it becomes more essential on roads.
Risks on Roads :
If we focus on the tail lights of the vehicle ahead,we may miss a truck joining the highway from the side.
If we focus more on blinking lights of vehicles from the opposite side,we may miss the vehicle in front and rear end.
Animals, pedestrians etc
How to handle it?
If we don't move our head,eye balls and look,our brain will simply erase that information and increase the risk of collision.
So,keep looking at mirrors,rotate the head and look on the sides.
Avoid driving when tired,it puts more stress on the brain to focus.
Avoid distracted driving at all times.
Do not fix your eyes only in the center.
The most dangerous target, like a parked truck or vehicle that stopped suddenly is the one that has NO motion.
This is the one you will hit without evasive action and also the one you will NOT see.
More Details :
https://www.nature.com/news/2001/010614/full/news010614-9.html