Differences in cycling performance of Dutch and non-Dutch students in the Netherlands

Thirty-seven young adult participants completed a bicycle ride through the city of Groningen. Behaviour of Dutch and non-Dutch cyclists was compared in three conditions: on a control track (i.e. a one-way bicycle path), on a complex intersection, and on a roundabout. Basic bicycle control of the two groups did not differ, neither did reported invested mental effort. However, non-Dutch participants made more serious errors in the experiment and reported to have had more crashes previous to the experiment. It is concluded that the performance of non-Dutch cyclists who continue cycling upon arrival in a new country, does not differ on the control level, but at the higher manoeuvre level more performance errors were observed in the non-Dutch group.