Stuck in a (literal) tight spot: Cycling between tram rails, sharrows and parked cars

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Problem: Cyclists riding next to parked vehicles are at risk of crashes with opening vehicle doors. A central position, out of this dooring zone, decreases such a risk but comes with other problems like potentially smaller passing distances kept by overtaking motorists or having to cross tram rails. Method: Factors influencing cyclists’ choice of position were investigated by showing a total of 3,444 German cyclists different traffic situations in two online surveys. In the first study (N = 1,850), parked cars, the position of a cyclist riding ahead in the presented images (towards the curb/center of the lane), and presence and kind of sharrows were varied. As the variation in results for the different sharrow types was negligible, in Study 2 (N = 1,594), only the most common type was used. Whether cyclists prefer to accept the risk of falling while crossing tram rails or the risk of being too close to the curb or parked cars was investigated, varying the presence of tram rails, which has not been previously researched. In both studies, respondents indicated which position on the road they would choose in the depicted situations and answered questions about subjective safety, a factor closely related to cyclists’ choice of position. Results: Cyclists chose positions farther towards the center of the road if there were parked cars and they chose an even more central position with tram rails. Respondents felt safer with sharrows on the road as well as in situations without parked cars and in situations without tram rails. Discussion and practical implications: The results indicate that, in addition to infrastructure characteristics, other cyclists’ behavior (descriptive norm) influences cyclists’ position on the road as well as their perceived safety. Implications for infrastructure design, especially regarding (the removal of) parked cars, are discussed.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)107-121
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of safety research
Volume87
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 38081686

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Cycling, Parked cars, Safety, Sharrows, Tram rails