ExposureBlog

Since many cases are won or lost on the testimony of eyewitnesses, a recent study cited here should raise some eyebrows.  It concerns the psychological phenomenon known as inattentional blindness, or the inability of some normal individuals  to recognize something when their attention is directed elsewhere.  The phenomenon is well-known in psychology. Visual expert Marc Green has a good article on inattentional blindness and human error,  and there is a book on the subject by Australian researchers Arien Mack and Irvin Rock.

I have read depositions in which the deponent is asked over and over whether he or she saw something take place.  If the response is in the negative the assumption is that the event did not, in fact, occur—or that those who say that it did are not telling the truth.  Well, not so fast.

In the study, conducted by Dr. Seema L. Clifasefi of the University of Washington at Seattle, 47 participants were asked to watch a basketball game and count the number of times a basketball was passed back and forth between teams.  Some were given an alcoholic beverage and others were given an alcohol-free beverage.  During the game, a woman in a gorilla suit appeared on the screen, stood amidst the players, beat her chest and walked away.  When questioned later whether they had seen the gorilla, fully a third of the participants had NOT noticed the gorilla.  Of those not consuming alcohol, only 46% recalled seeing the gorilla.  Of those consuming alcohol, only 18% recalled the gorilla.

It would seem, then that if an eyewitness was engaged in behavior that required his full attention, the odds of noticing details of a specific incident may be less than 50 percent. 

In the summer sun, the inside temperature of an automobile with the doors closed can rise 19 degrees in ten minutes and 43 degrees in an hour.  Anytime you prepare to lock and leave an automobile, take a few seconds to “sweep” the car or van visually to make sure you haven’t forgotten something–or someone like a baby, toddler or pet.  Left inside a closed automobile, a child’s core temperature can reach the lethal 107 degrees F.

My good friend and former DOE safety guy/motorcycle maven Gary Noss sends along two great articles on how to lift a motorcycle that has fallen over, here and here.  I used to ride one and will likely do it again, so for me anyway, this is timely.   

Apparently so.  The survivor in the most recent mine disaster in Kentucky says the escape air packs didn’t last long enough.  Developing. . .

You know the cabin door you’re sitting next to on that jet flight? Can it be opened inadvertently? Probably not.  Good article here (requires subscription.)

An e-coli infection can be hazardous to one’s health.  Lethal, in fact.  As always, it’s a good idea to avoid eating things that might include this type of bacteria.  Unfortunately, the list seems to be getting longer.  Dateline has a report on e-coli found in Dole bagged salads.  Read about it here.  NBC Dateline isn’t sure how it got there, but promise to stay on the story until the culprit is found.  MSNBC offers shopping tips to avoid bacteria-ridden food. 

Results of a just-published study (read about it here, here and here) reminds us again that driving while drowsy is hazardous.  Also not recommended is driving while intoxicated, driving while talking on the cell phone, and driving while putting on makeup.  Or any combination of the above.  I’ve had a few safety cases involving long haul truckers and I always suggest taking a look at the driving logs, then applying MapQuest and Excel to see how fast they would have had to drive to comply with their records. 

While there is a substantial amount of research on the driving while drowsy (here, here and here) there are surprisingly few books on the subject.  The classic for the general audience is probably Stanley Coren’s Sleep Thieves.  Recommended.