01473898

Component

Nearly twenty years of federal policy has sought to increase bicycling trips to improve physical health, mitigate automobile pollution, and increase access, but research shows that people’s concerns regarding the risk of bicycling near traffic remain a significant barrier to widespread cycling. While an important finding, the research has not disaggregated “traffic risk” to expose its many aspects and how they may affect bicyclists with differing skill levels, experiences, and behaviors. This paper elaborates on results from a recent internet survey examining various aspects of traffic risk among 579 non-bicycling drivers, bicycling drivers, and non-driving bicyclists in the Bay Area. Analysis of variance tests revealed that bicyclists’ perceptions of danger differed according to riding frequency, with frequent cyclists more likely to fear more commonly reported crash types, while potential cyclists feared crashes that occur less frequently. In addition, an “exposure effect” seemed to appear such that those who bicycle occasionally reported the most fear of all bicyclists. Respondents also reported “near miss” experiences with motor vehicles. Nearly 70% of bicyclists in the sample have experienced a “near miss”, and 14% reported being hit. The data indicate that perceptions of traffic risk are related to near miss and crash experiences, although this differed according to bicycling frequency. These findings suggest that efforts targeting specific driver and bicyclist behaviors associated with these “near misses” could mitigate perceived traffic risk for bicyclists.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANF20 Bicycle Transportation.

01470560

13-5264

English

16p

2013

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References; Tables

Adults; Bicycle crashes; Bicycling; Crash risk forecasting; Traffic safety

Bicycle safety; Risk perception

San Francisco Bay Area

Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I80: Accident Studies; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-5264

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 5 2013 1:00PM