Abstract
This study looked at whether drivers overtaking a bicyclist changed the proximities of their passes in response to the level of experience and skill signalled by the bicyclist's appearance. Five outfits were tested, ranging from a stereotypical sport rider's outfit, portraying high experience and skill, to a vest with ‘novice cyclist’ printed on the back, portraying low experience. A high-visibility bicycling jacket was also used, as were two commercially available safety vests, one featuring a prominent mention of the word ‘police’ and a warning that the rider was video-recording their journey, and one modelled after a police officer's jacket but with a letter changed so it read ‘POLITE’. An ultrasonic distance sensor recorded the space left by vehicles passing the bicyclist on a regular commuting route. 5690 data points fulfilled the criteria for the study and were included in the analyses. The only outfit associated with a significant change in mean passing proximities was the police/video-recording jacket. Contrary to predictions, drivers treated the sports outfit and the ‘novice cyclist’ outfit equivalently, suggesting they do not adjust overtaking proximity as a function of a rider's perceived experience. Notably, whilst some outfits seemed to discourage motorists from passing within 1 metre of the rider, approximately 1-2% of overtakes came within 50 cm no matter what outfit was worn. This suggests there is little riders can do, by altering their appearance, to prevent the very closest overtakes; it is suggested that infrastructural, educational or legal measures are more promising for preventing drivers from passing extremely close to bicyclists.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 69-77 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Accident Analysis and Prevention |
Volume | 64 |
Early online date | 22 Nov 2013 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2014 |
Keywords
- bicycling
- bicyclists
- overtaking
- proximity
- stereotypes
- experience
- high-visibility
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Profiles
-
Ian Walker
- Department of Psychology - Senior Lecturer
- Water Innovation and Research Centre (WIRC)
- Institute for Policy Research (IPR)
- Smart Warehousing and Logistics Systems
Person: Research & Teaching