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Title:

Cyclists and Left Turning Drivers: A Study of Infrastructure and Behaviour

Accession Number:

01663562

Record Type:

Component

Abstract:

In Australia and North America the limited segregated cycling infrastructure means that cyclists mainly ride on the road and interact with motor vehicles. Interactions between drivers and cyclists at intersections are complex, particularly left turn negotiations (right turn in North America) when a cyclist is travelling straight and a driver intends to turn left. The aim of this study was to investigate the safe and unsafe interactions involving these types of left turn negotiations. This study employed a mixed method investigation including desk-based analysis of police reported cyclist crash data and a cross-sectional observational study using data from roadside mounted video cameras. Crash data indicates left turn negotiation incidents are proportionally less severe when compared to all cyclist crashes, gender distributions align with that for work-related bicycle trips, and site traffic control type may influence crash risk. Video analysis focused on observed driver/vehicle and cyclist behaviour at five intersections with continuous and discontinuous bicycle lanes on the intersection approach. Based on the limited video data collected in this study, it appears that the infrastructure may not be communicating clear messages to road users. Two near collisions were observed and appear to have arisen due to a lack of mutual understanding between road users, possibly as a result of intersection approach design. Future studies could extend the methods used across additional sites to gain a representative understanding of the types of road design that maximises safe left turn negotiations between drivers and cyclists.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANF20 Standing Committee on Bicycle Transportation.

Report/Paper Numbers:

18-03892

Language:

English

Authors:

Nicholls, Hugo
Rose, Geoffrey
Carlisle, Rachel
Johnson, Marilyn

Pagination:

13p

Publication Date:

2018

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; References; Tables

Candidate Terms:

Bicycle vehicle interface

Geographic Terms:

Australia; North America

Subject Areas:

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2018 Paper #18-03892

Files:

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Jan 8 2018 10:58AM