Keep me safe—evaluation of safety perception of different bicycle facilities

Bicycle traffic constitutes a central aspect of present and future inner-city traffic. Therefore, cyclists' safety is increasingly the focus of research. A current discussion is whether a structural separation between bicycle and motorized traffic using light segregation improves road safety an...

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Main Authors: Tanja Stoll, Désirée Hagmann, Jakob Leitner, Markus Hackenfort
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Technology and Society, Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund University 2024-12-01
Series:Traffic Safety Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://tsr.international/TSR/article/view/26030
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author Tanja Stoll
Désirée Hagmann
Jakob Leitner
Markus Hackenfort
author_facet Tanja Stoll
Désirée Hagmann
Jakob Leitner
Markus Hackenfort
author_sort Tanja Stoll
collection DOAJ
description Bicycle traffic constitutes a central aspect of present and future inner-city traffic. Therefore, cyclists' safety is increasingly the focus of research. A current discussion is whether a structural separation between bicycle and motorized traffic using light segregation improves road safety and the perceived safety of cyclists compared to a design using markings or other forms of light segregation. The field study was conducted on a street in Zurich that is a source of conflict for cyclists with motorized traffic by implementing four different forms of light segregation and examining their influence on the safety assessment. The (1) colored bicycle lane was supplemented by (2) a continuous line, (3) light segregation that still allows cyclists or cars to ride over them (discs), and (4) light segregation with guide beacons that do not allow cyclists nor cars to ride over them. A video-based traffic analysis was conducted for each stage to assess the conflicts between cyclists and motorized traffic. Regarding safety perception, cyclists were asked before and after each conversion about their general safety assessment and perception of the specific street section. Moreover, the conversions were presented to participants via pictures before they were implemented in order to assess if a safety assessment based on pictures is comparable to a perceived safety perception in reality. Objectively, fewer adaptive actions were recorded for all three conversions compared to the initial design. Significant differences were found between the conversions regarding perceived safety, with the light segregation using discs being rated as the safest. The safety assessment based on pictures, however, revealed no significant differences. These results are a basis for further research on safety assessments and the relationship between objective and subjective safety for cyclists.
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spelling doaj-art-df19f8def84f45e38d4633f96d2eedff2024-12-17T09:34:14ZengTechnology and Society, Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund UniversityTraffic Safety Research2004-30822024-12-01710.55329/vrrz2104Keep me safe—evaluation of safety perception of different bicycle facilitiesTanja Stoll0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2897-7908Désirée Hagmann1https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5644-0958Jakob Leitner2Markus Hackenfort3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1084-1244ZHAW, SwitzerlandZHAW, Switzerland verkehrsteiner AG, SwitzerlandZHAW, Switzerland Bicycle traffic constitutes a central aspect of present and future inner-city traffic. Therefore, cyclists' safety is increasingly the focus of research. A current discussion is whether a structural separation between bicycle and motorized traffic using light segregation improves road safety and the perceived safety of cyclists compared to a design using markings or other forms of light segregation. The field study was conducted on a street in Zurich that is a source of conflict for cyclists with motorized traffic by implementing four different forms of light segregation and examining their influence on the safety assessment. The (1) colored bicycle lane was supplemented by (2) a continuous line, (3) light segregation that still allows cyclists or cars to ride over them (discs), and (4) light segregation with guide beacons that do not allow cyclists nor cars to ride over them. A video-based traffic analysis was conducted for each stage to assess the conflicts between cyclists and motorized traffic. Regarding safety perception, cyclists were asked before and after each conversion about their general safety assessment and perception of the specific street section. Moreover, the conversions were presented to participants via pictures before they were implemented in order to assess if a safety assessment based on pictures is comparable to a perceived safety perception in reality. Objectively, fewer adaptive actions were recorded for all three conversions compared to the initial design. Significant differences were found between the conversions regarding perceived safety, with the light segregation using discs being rated as the safest. The safety assessment based on pictures, however, revealed no significant differences. These results are a basis for further research on safety assessments and the relationship between objective and subjective safety for cyclists. https://tsr.international/TSR/article/view/26030bicycle laneexpected safetyperceived safetytraffic safety
spellingShingle Tanja Stoll
Désirée Hagmann
Jakob Leitner
Markus Hackenfort
Keep me safe—evaluation of safety perception of different bicycle facilities
Traffic Safety Research
bicycle lane
expected safety
perceived safety
traffic safety
title Keep me safe—evaluation of safety perception of different bicycle facilities
title_full Keep me safe—evaluation of safety perception of different bicycle facilities
title_fullStr Keep me safe—evaluation of safety perception of different bicycle facilities
title_full_unstemmed Keep me safe—evaluation of safety perception of different bicycle facilities
title_short Keep me safe—evaluation of safety perception of different bicycle facilities
title_sort keep me safe evaluation of safety perception of different bicycle facilities
topic bicycle lane
expected safety
perceived safety
traffic safety
url https://tsr.international/TSR/article/view/26030
work_keys_str_mv AT tanjastoll keepmesafeevaluationofsafetyperceptionofdifferentbicyclefacilities
AT desireehagmann keepmesafeevaluationofsafetyperceptionofdifferentbicyclefacilities
AT jakobleitner keepmesafeevaluationofsafetyperceptionofdifferentbicyclefacilities
AT markushackenfort keepmesafeevaluationofsafetyperceptionofdifferentbicyclefacilities