Why male adolescent bicyclists perform risky stunts? A qualitative study

Stunts are one of the main reasons for traffic accidents, particularly among male adolescent bicyclists (ABs). Nonetheless, there are limited data about the theoretical framework of its contributing factors. Moreover, the theoretical frameworks explaining the factors contributing to other risky behaviors have not been used in the area of risky bicycle stunts. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the factors contributing to risky stunts among male ABs in Iran. This qualitative study was conducted from September 2019 to December 2020 using conventional content analysis. Participants were 29 male ABs purposively selected from Isfahan, Iran. Data were collected through eighteen interviews with sixteen ABs and three focus group discussions with thirteen ABs. Data analysis was conducted concurrently with data collection through conventional qualitative content analysis. The mean of participants’ age was 16.4 ± 1.1 years. Factors contributing to their engagement in risky stunts were grouped into three main themes, namely predisposing personal factors (such as risk underestimation, perceived superiority, sensation seeking, emotional condition, and previous stunt-related experiences), reinforcing social factors (such as supportive social norms and weaknesses of traffic regulations), and environmental conditions (such as time conditions and structural factors). This study provides a new classification of the facilitators to risky stunts among male ABs and reveals new facilitators to these stunts, namely perceived superiority and police non-deterrent reactions to stunts. Therefore, programs on the improvement of safe bicycling should focus not only on perceptual and emotional factors and correction of false perceived superiority through education, but also on social norms and beliefs, regulations, and environmental factors.     

Using optical illusions in the shoulder of a cycle path to affect lateral position

An important factor in single-sided accidents of older cyclists is that they ride off the cycle path onto the verge. Two experiments were performed to assess the feasibility of using virtual 3D objects in the verge to affect the lateral position of bicyclists. In the first experiment, different virtual objects were placed in the shoulder and 1150 passing bicyclists were observed using a fixed camera. The (standard deviation of the) lateral position and speed in four conditions with virtual objects differing in colour, structure, or 3D effect were compared with a control condition in which no virtual objects were applied. In a second experiment, the behaviour of 32 bicyclists aged 50 years or older was measured by mounting two digital action cameras with GPS on the participants’ bicycles. The participants cycled a route of approximately 12 km in which several locations were passed, one of these contained 15 virtual objects similar to the ones used in the first experiment placed in the shoulder of the cycle path. Cyclist behaviour was compared with behaviour at a control location consisting of a solitary two-way cycle path with a grass shoulder. Results indicate that the virtual objects in the tested format had little overall effect on cyclists’ behaviour. However, bicyclists were positioned closer to the virtual objects and the shoulder when they looked at the objects or when they reported that they saw them while cycling. This suggests that the overall visibility of the object design may have been too conservative.     

Changes in children’s perception-action tuning over short time scales: Bicycling across traffic-filled intersections in a virtual environment

This investigation examined short-term changes in child and adult cyclists’ gap decisions and movement timing in response to general and specific road-crossing experiences. Children (10- and 12-year-olds) and adults rode a bicycle through a virtual environment with 12 intersections. Participants faced continuous cross traffic and waited for gaps they judged were adequate for crossing. In the control condition, participants encountered randomly ordered gaps ranging from 1.5 to 5.0 s at all intersections. In the high-density condition, participants encountered high-density intersections sandwiched between sets of control intersections. These high-density intersections were designed to push participants toward taking tighter gaps. Participants in both conditions were more likely to accept 3.5-, 4.0-, 4.5-, and 5.0-s gaps at the last set of intersections than at the first set of intersections, whereas participants in the high-density condition were also more likely to accept very tight 3.0-s gaps at the last intersections than at the first intersections. Moreover, individuals in the high-density condition who waited less and took shorter gaps at the middle intersections were also more likely to take very tight 3.0-s gaps at the last intersections. The 10-year-olds in both conditions had more time to spare when they cleared the path of the oncoming car at the last intersections, whereas the 12-year-olds and adults showed no change in time to spare across intersections. The discussion focuses on linking short-term change in perceptual-motor functioning to longer term perceptual-motor development.     

“Going through a little bit of growing pains”: A qualitative study of the factors that influence the route choice of regular bicyclists in a developing cycling city

As cities make concerted efforts to become more bicycle-friendly through policy changes and infrastructure, it is important that such efforts ultimately support people who currently bicycle and remove barriers that may prevent more people from bicycling. Travel surveys can reveal the nature and distribution of bicycling trips, but perceptions and behaviours of bicyclists are better understood through qualitative methods. In particular, developing cycling cities are unique settings to examine how the built environment supports bicycling as changes are made to increase bicycling levels. Through semi-structured interviews, this research explores the case of Hamilton, Ontario and the factors that influence route choice from the perspective of regular bicyclists. Major themes were identified using thematic analysis: (i) exclusion from road space; (ii) infrastructure; and (iii) streetscape. Bicyclists highly value infrastructure and seek routes that minimize interactions with cars, while avoiding many arterial roads that prioritize motorists. Routes that appear to be more human-oriented or that have nature are also attractive. Many regular bicyclists report that current bicycle infrastructure does not meet their preferences. Despite building nearly half of the planned infrastructure network, our findings suggest the built environment is not perceived to be oriented to bicycling. This study provides policy and practice recommendations for developing cycling cities in North America as they transition towards established cycling cities.     

Are they really interested but concerned? A mixed methods exploration of the Geller bicyclist typology

The Geller typology, which categorizes the population into four types of bicyclists (strong and fearless, enthused and confident, interested but concerned, and no way no how) has gained considerable popularity amongst researchers and planners. One large U.S. study used a survey-derived approach to categorize respondents into Geller’s typology, and found the majority of Americans were “interested but concerned”. While the U.S. findings are widely cited in planning documents, there has yet to be an assessment as to whether this indirect survey-derived categorization into Geller’s typology corresponds with how bicyclists perceive themselves. Using a mixed methods approach, we explored the Geller typology from the view of bicyclists themselves. Our specific objectives were to assess whether the survey-derived categorization method aligned with bicyclists’ perceptions, and to also examine bicyclists’ interpretations of Geller’s typology. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of bicyclists (n = 281) and interviews with a subset of participants (n = 25). According to the survey-derived categorization, the distribution of the sample (n = 25) was: 4% strong and fearless, 12% enthused and confident, and 84% interested but concerned. In the interviews we learned there was only a match between survey-derived and self-perceived bicyclist type for seven of twenty-five (28%) participants. When asked, participants were more likely to categorize themselves to strong and fearless (24% overall) or enthused and confident (52% overall). Our findings suggest that the category titles are intuitive, however, the survey-derived categorization does not necessarily match with how bicyclists perceive themselves. This suggests that, at least for those who currently bicycle, a direct approach of asking people which type of bicyclist they identify with may be preferable.     

Why do people like bicycling? Modeling affect toward bicycling

Studies show that the way an individual feels about bicycling – the degree to which they like bicycling – is an important predictor of whether or not they bicycle. But why do some people like bicycling and others don’t? This study explores factors that may influence an individual’s liking of bicycling, or more formally, their bicycling affect. We analyze a rich dataset from a cross-sectional survey of residents of six small U.S. cities using an ordered logit model. Results show that bicycling behavior has the strongest association with liking bicycling, with bicycling constraints following as the second most important factor. Individual cognitions, including perceptions and normative beliefs, also play important roles in predicting bicycling affect. Individual measures of the physical environment do not correlate with liking of bicycling, but the perception that biking to various destinations is safe does. Social environment factors influence liking of bicycling as well. Longitudinal research is needed to better understand the reciprocal relationship between bicycling affect and bicycling behavior as well as the effect over time of factors such as the physical environment. Nevertheless, this study offers an initial understanding of the potential determinants of bicycling affect that provides a starting point for further research as well as direction for the development of policies for getting more people on bicycles.     

Bicycling under the influence of alcohol

ObjectiveAccording to international data estimates the proportion bicyclists with a positive Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) who are involved in accidents ranges from 15% to 57%. This large variance, and the fact that the reliance on accident statistics means that only the BAC of injured bicyclists is being collected, shows that we do not really know what the average and variation in BAC of bicyclists is, particularly on nights out.MethodOn a total of four nights between 5 PM and 8 AM BAC levels of bicyclists were collected with a Breathalyser (N = 687). Samples were collected in two Dutch cities, one with a high (Groningen), and one with a modest, student population (The Hague).ResultsThe results showed that the percentage of bicyclists who had alcohol in their blood rose over the night from 7.7% at 6 PM to over 89% after 1 AM. Furthermore, the percentage of bicyclists with an illegal BAC above 0.5 g/l rose from zero percent at 6 PM to 68% at 1 AM. The average BAC of bicyclists with a BAC above zero was 0.79 g/l. Differences between the two cities were limited.ConclusionCycling with illegal levels of blood alcohol turns out to be very common on nights out in the Netherlands.     

Physiological responses to urban design during bicycling: A naturalistic investigation

The current research set out to measure the moderating effect that urban design may have on bicyclist physiology while in transition. Focusing on the hilly City of Wuppertal, Germany, we harnessed bicyclists with mobile sensors to measure their responses to urban design metrics obtained from space syntax, while also adjusting for known traffic, terrain, and contextual factors. The empirical strategy consisted of exploratory data analysis (EDA), ordinary least squares (OLS), and a local regression model to account for spatial autocorrelation. The latter model was robust (R² = 68%), and showed that two statistically significant (p < 0.05) urban design factors influenced bicyclist physiology. Controllability, a measure of how spatially dominated a space is, increased bicyclist responses (i.e., decreased comfortability); while integration, which is related to accessibility and connectivity, had the opposite effect. Other noteworthy covariates included one-way streets and density of parked automobiles: these exerted a negative influence on bicyclist physiology. The results of this research ultimately showed that nuanced urban designs have a moderate influence on bicycling comfort. These outcomes could be utilized by practitioners focused on implementing appropriate interventions to increase bicyclist comfort levels and this mode share.     

Psychological stress of bicycling with traffic: examining heart rate variability of bicyclists in natural urban environments

Understanding how road environments stress bicyclists (and prospective bicyclists) has important implications for road design and network planning. With the rise of wearable bio-sensing technology, the potential for measuring real-time environmental acute stress is emerging. In this naturalistic cross-over field experiment, we investigate bicyclist stress through heart rate variability (HRV). We examine the relationship between HRV and the road environment through a series of multilevel statistical models. Results suggest that participants’ HRV are only certain to differ on one (the local road) of five road environments tested. The differences in participants’ HRV between two collectors and two arterials are far more tenuous. We discuss the validity of HRV and other biometrics for assessing stress and discuss how HRV and other biometrics might help improve our understanding of bicyclists’ perceptions of road environments.     

The role of attitudes in perceptions of bicycle facilities: A latent-class regression approach

While many professionals support bicycling for transportation to reduce traffic congestion and improve public health, many potential cyclists see the risks from traffic injuries as a major barrier. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of bicycle facilities on perceptions of bikeability, and how these perceptions vary among different groups. Data comes from surveys (N = 2157) deployed in ten study neighborhoods as part of two research projects. Respondents were asked to rate a series of images of hypothetical roadways in terms of perceived comfort, perceived safety, and willingness to try bicycling. Latent-class regression was used to model these responses, with bicycle facility type and roadway characteristics as explanatory variables and sociodemographics and attitudinal factors (car preference, bike enjoyment, risk tolerance, and anti-exercise) as covariates for class membership. A recurring theme among the presented solutions is the emergence of two pro-bicycle classes - risk-embracing and risk-cautious - together with a pro-car class. Results indicate that the impact of protected bicycle facilities on perceptions are much higher for the pro-bike/risk-cautious group. The major implication of these findings is that there likely exists a sizeable segment of the population that, although perhaps just as interested in bicycling as the typical pro-bicycle class, is more cautious in their perceptions of comfort and safety. Those belonging to this subgroup generally view minimal facilities as much more unsafe and uncomfortable than their risk-accepting counterparts, but have comparable perceptions regarding high-quality protected bicycle facilities.