Communication of bicyclists with car drivers and resulting consequences for traffic safety

Bicyclists face a higher accident risk than other road users (ETSC 2012). The question therefore is how traffic safety for bicyclists can be enhanced? Communication is essential in traffic in order to inform other road users and to coordinate behaviour. The current proposal focuses on the analysis of how bicyclists communicate with car drivers in order to obtain a better understanding of the strategies that lie behind a certain communication behaviour. Communication is defined as exchange of information between persons. Any behaviour in the presence of others can be considered as a form of communication. This includes verbal communication and non verbal communication, e. g. physical appearance (e.g. wearing a helmet). The aim of this study is to obtain a better understanding of the communication processes between bicyclists and car drivers and the effects they have. The general hypothesis is that infrastructure has an influence on the communication between bicyclists and other road users. Infrastructure influences the willingness and the chance for communication: e. g. the intersection design enhances the visibility of cyclists. Differences in communication behaviour and the used strategies are supposed to be related to socio-demographic variables like age, sex, driving experience and attitudes, e.g. own responsibility or one`s own role in the traffic system. Two focus groups with eight persons of mixed sex and different age, who actively ride a bicycle, will be assembled. The interviews will be evaluated by means of content analysis (Mayring 2010). Video observation will be used in order to record non-verbal communication processes. Four intersections in Vienna are selected; three cameras will be used to record the observations. Altogether, 100 participants will be recruited as test-bicyclists, half of the group female bicyclists, the other half male bicyclists. Additionally another 100 bicyclists are serving as control group. The recordings will be analysed with the software INTERACT, by using traffic-conflict technique and manual coding of behaviour sequences. Additionally to the observation a survey with all participants will be conducted, as well as in-depth interviews with 8 to 10 participants in order to obtain detailed information about the strategies. The results can be adapted and used for the drivers` training, but also for the training of bicycle riders. In addition recommendations for the adaptation of the bicycle infrastructure or input for road safety awareness campaigns can be derived from the results. The research project is carried out as PhD thesis (3 peer-reviewed articles in journals) by Mag. Elisabeth Füssl and by Prof. Dr. Ralf Risser as the mentor of this thesis. The results will be presented at appropriate symposia, published on the home page www.factum.at, and presented at various universities.

The precondition of steady and safe traffic flow on the road is good communication. The research project funded by the FWF (P 26192-G22) set out to investigate how and when cyclists and drivers communicate with each other and how "good" communication could be promoted. The evaluation of the interviews with cyclists and the observations at crossroads revealed that there is definitely more communication on the road than we might expect. In addition to the cyclists usual hand signals, body language and changes of speed also indicate which moves and actions are to be anticipated (e.g. dodge, slow down, go off, cross). It is crucial that drivers notice cyclists ahead of time in order to avoid sudden collisions and conflicts, especially at junctions. Regarding the cyclists, it is necessary for them to make repeatedly sure that they can cross the road safely: they typically roll up to the junction and - depending on the size of the crossing - look several times to the left and several times to the right to make sure the crossing is safe for them. Their trust that drivers will comply with the legal rules is not without reservations. The conflicts that have been registered at the intersections only confirmed these doubts: driving tightly past, or in front of traversing cyclists and pedestrians over the zebra crossing, seems to be a common practice as the drivers want to "move ahead" quickly, regardless of the unprotected cyclists and other vulnerable road traffic users. It is obvious that cyclists, too, have developed various strategies (such as crossing at red light, riding on the sidewalk while ignoring the cycling path) which make them feel safer, when they perceive the infrastructure or traffic situation as unsafe or dangerous, and which make their fast progress possible. These traffic rules violations are often accompanied by two problems: the faults in the infrastructure (for example a sudden end of the cycle path; varying traffic light phases for one crossing) and the inequality between protected and unprotected road users. Being overtaken, overlooked or cut up are the most common hazards that cyclists experience in the road traffic. Most cyclists agree however, that not every misconduct for instance, a brief overtaking - is a deliberate recklessness of the driver. The majority of them use both car and bike and these experiences help them to understand the position of each other. Unfortunately, not all drivers are able to understand the consequences of their own actions and its impact on others. If bicycling needs to be promoted, good communication must be promoted too, which means to understand the situation and needs of each other. Typically, people who usually use different means of transportation are better at it.