Self-reported aggression amongst active cyclists

Enhancing mutual understanding of e-scooter user's perspective in overtaking maneuver through replaying own driving trajectory

The global adoption of e-scooters as a convenient mode of micro-mobility transportation is on the rise, offering a flexible solution for covering first- and last-mile journeys. However, this surge in usage brings challenges, particularly concerning road safety, as e-scooter riders often share road space with other vehicles, heightening the risk of serious accidents. While numerous studies have explored safe overtaking behaviors and safety perceptions from drivers' viewpoints, limited attention has been given to understanding the varying safety perceptions of both drivers and e-scooter riders, particularly after riding an e-scooter and being overtaken by their own vehicles. This research aims to bridge this gap by examining variations in safety perceptions and assessing behavioral changes before and after experiencing overtaking scenarios. Specifically, the study focuses on scenarios where an e-scooter rider experiences being overtaken by a vehicle they had previously driven. A Unity-based sequential simulation process is employed to replay scenarios obtained from a vehicle simulator during an e-scooter experiment involving the same participant without their awareness. This innovative approach allows e-scooter rider participants to relive their own prior vehicle overtaking maneuvers while riding an e-scooter. The findings reveal that most participants (64%) felt less safe as e-scooter riders, influenced by factors like relative speed and acceleration of overtaking vehicles. After experiencing being overtaken by their own pre-driven vehicles, a noteworthy positive correlation emerged between safety perception and lateral distance, indicating that greater distance is derived from a better understanding of e-scooter safety. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of the sequential simulation strategy in fostering safe driving behavior and raising road safety awareness. Experiencing overtaking behaviors firsthand as an e-scooter rider, previously behind the wheel of the overtaking vehicle, encourages a heightened awareness of road safety. These findings have significant implications for road safety authorities, suggesting the potential application of this approach in driver education programs. By incorporating such interventions tailored to improve the safety of vulnerable road users, authorities can take proactive steps towards mitigating risks associated with micro-mobility transportation.

Wider view over bicycle crashes: Complementing and extending bicycle crash statistics in urban areas using surveys

INTRODUCTION

In pursuit of sustainability goals, many cities are introducing measures to increase the usage of bicycles as a means of transportation. City planners aim to ensure that this increase does not lead to an increase in crashes, but must make corresponding infrastructure decisions with limited information. Sufficient data to perform a statistical analysis of location-specific crash frequencies is rarely available. For example, only approximately 10% of all bicycle crashes are reported to the police (Shinar et al., 2018). Therefore, urban planners often rely on expert opinion, which may lead to suboptimal prioritization and realization of infrastructure improvements.

METHOD

This paper demonstrates how surveys on bicycle crashes can be used to aid urban planners in making infrastructure decisions. In addition to confirming the location and characteristics of reported crashes, surveys can uncover characteristics of crashes that are not reported to the police, situations in which a crash almost occurred, and locations perceived by cyclists to be dangerous. Surveys also allow urban planners to investigate non-infrastructure related causes of crashes, such as the frequency with which individual cyclists use other modes of transportation.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The usefulness of surveys in the determination of urban cycling safety is demonstrated in this paper through analysis of survey results from the city of Zurich in 2018.

Analysis of students' anger during riding electric bicycles on campus

This paper presents a study of the causes of anger of students who ride electric bicycles on a university campus. A questionnaire survey of 370 students in university was conducted using a electric bicycle rider anger scale. Structural equation model is used to analyze the interaction between pedestrians, traffic management, other riders and environment and riders themselves. The results show that the overall level of students' riding anger on the campus was not high, and the interaction with the surrounding environment mainly reflected the riding anger of college students. The interaction of students' anger with campus traffic management requirements was relatively low. Based on the study results, several campus traffic management and safety education recommendations are made.

Relationships among Bicycle Rider Behaviours, Anger, Aggression, and Crashes in Finland

Riding a bicycle is increasingly encouraged as a sustainable transport solution, especially in urban areas. However, safety concerns, both perceived and actual, can significantly lower the willingness to ride among the population. To support cycling planning and policy in the double task of increasing the levels of cycling while mitigating crash risk, there is a need to better understand the behaviours and attitudes of bicycle riders. In this manuscript, we study a cohort of Finnish bicycle riders through four questionnaires, the Cycling Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ), Cyclist Risk Perception and Regulation Scale (RPRS), Cyclist Anger Scale (CAS), and Cyclist Aggression Expression Inventory (CAX). Our findings show low self-reported errors and violations, and high levels of knowledge regarding traffic rules among Finnish bicycle riders. Most participants report low levels of aggression, which is generally dealt with in constructive ways, while anger was most commonly a result of interactions with motor vehicles and less with other road users such as pedestrians. To further reduce the crash risk in cycling, our results point to the need for further separation between bicycle riders and motorised vehicles, and for the development of risk perception and positive behaviours among riders, particularly those engaging in risky behaviours.

Bicycle Rider Behavior and Crash Involvement in Australia

This research investigated how behaviours and attitudes of bicycle riders influence crash frequency and severity. The study recruited 1102 Australian bicycle riders for an online survey. The survey comprised questions on demographics, frequency of riding and the number and severity of traffic crashes during the last five years. The survey included the Cycling Behaviour Questionnaire and the Cyclist Risk Perception and Regulation Scale. Overall, there were low levels of errors and violations reported by participants indicating that these behaviours were on average never or rarely exhibited while riding a bicycle. Conversely, participants reported high levels of engagement in positive behaviours and reported high levels of traffic rule knowledge and risk perception. Higher rates of violations and errors were associated with increased crash likelihood, while higher rates of positive behaviours were associated with reduced rates of crash involvement in a period of 5 years. The findings highlight the relationship between errors, total crashes and crash severity Further promotion of positive behaviours amongst riders may also help to reduce the risk of crashes.

The specificity of cyclists' aggression; examination of the cycling anger expression inventory across different recipient road user groups

While cyclist aggression is relatively rare, it has been associated with increased crash risk. Previous measures of cyclist aggression have not taken into consideration who the recipient of the aggression may be; this is likely to differ across road user types. The aim of this study was to understand if cyclists' aggression differs according to whether the recipient is a driver, pedestrian or another cyclist. To examine this, 1206 cyclists (males = 75 %; age range 18-80 years; M = 47.35 ± 11.81) completed the Cycling Anger Expression Inventory (CAX; Møller and Haustein, 2017) three times; once for each road user type. Respondents also provided information regarding their cycling anger tendencies. Open text responses regarding sources of, and responses to, anger were also sought. The measurement invariance of the three CAX models was examined to determine whether the items were interpreted in a similar manner for interactions with each road user type and to compare latent factor means. The results showed that verbal aggression was not the same across road users. However, adaptive constructive ways of dealing with anger were similar across the three types of recipients. Comparison of latent means showed that cyclists reported higher expressions of anger toward drivers than cyclists or pedestrians. Qualitative analysis of the text responses suggest this is due to the perceived risk posed by drivers combined with positive attitudes expressed towards sharing infrastructure with pedestrians and other cyclists. Based on these findings it was concluded that: i) the CAX might best be used with reference to drivers, rather than "road users", and ii) while aggression in cyclists is rare, it is more common toward drivers than other road users.

Self-reported mindfulness, cyclist anger and aggression

Anger is a common behaviour exhibited by road users when one's goals are perceived to have been blocked by another. Recent research has demonstrated that, generally, cyclists tend to deal with anger in constructive ways. However, when anger does manifest, it can result in behaviours that increase their crash risk. Amongst motor vehicle drivers, mindfulness levels have been associated with less anger and appear to mediate anger and associated aggression. The current study sought to understand whether mindfulness has similar associations with anger and aggression in a sample of cyclists. A total of 583 cyclists (males = 68 %) completed an online questionnaire that sought information on their levels of mindfulness, current mindfulness practices and tendencies for anger and aggression while cycling. The relationships between these were then examined using structural equation modelling. The results showed that cyclists with higher mindfulness levels tended to report less anger across a range of situations (e.g., interactions with pedestrians, cyclists, motor vehicle drivers and police). Both direct and indirect (through anger) relationships were found between mindfulness and aggression, again showing that more mindful cyclists tended to engage in less frequent aggression. These findings align with recent research investigating this relationship amongst motor vehicle drivers and suggest that mindfulness may be a promising strategy to reduce or avoid anger and aggression in cyclists.

Personality traits as predictors of cyclist behaviour

Road user behaviour and personality traits are important determinants of driver crash risk. While a great deal of research has been undertaken to understand the relationships between crash involvement, behaviours and personality traits for motor vehicle drivers, comparatively few studies have considered these factors for cyclists. This manuscript presents the findings of a study conducted amongst a sample of six hundred and fifteen (615) Australian cyclists, investigating these issues. The aim of this research was to establish a structure for a cycling behaviour questionnaire applicable to a cohort of Australian cyclists. Using the dimensions identified from the questionnaire, the research investigated the relationship between self-reported crashes, behaviours and personality traits, in order to further develop our understanding of risk factors associated with cycling. Personality traits (agreeableness, extroversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience) were measured using the Big Five Inventory. While cyclist behaviour was measured using a modified version of the cyclist behaviour questionnaire developed by the Dutch national road safety research centre (SWOV). Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was performed on the cycling behaviour questionnaire to identify underlying subscales of behaviour. The PCA identified a two dimension model representing violations (α = 0.74) and errors (α = 0.65), consisting of 16 items from the original 22 item cyclist behaviour questionnaire. Linear regressions for each of the cyclist behaviour factors identified that age was negatively associated with errors and violations, indicating that older cyclists report fewer errors or violations. Similarly, there was a negative association with average weekly kilometres travelled. Gender was a significant predictor of errors, but not violations, with male cyclists reporting fewer errors than females. When considering personality traits, there was a positive association between extroversion and both errors and violations. Significant negative associations were identified for agreeableness and conscientiousness. Neither neuroticism nor openness to experience were associated with the frequency of errors or violations. The research identified that demographics, travel characteristics and personality traits provide insight into engagement in aberrant cycling behaviours and these behaviours are associated with self-reported crash involvement. The research provides insight into behaviours that could be targeted with appropriate education and enforcement strategies.