BICYCLIST SAFETY REQUIRES VISIBILITY AND MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATOR EDUCATION

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BICYCLIST SAFETY REQUIRES VISIBILITY AND MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATOR EDUCATION

High-visibility clothing only part of the solution, researchers say

    


Researchers from UBC Okanagan have determined motorists tended to give cyclists wearing high-visibility vests more room on the road than cyclists without high-visibility clothing.

The vests, with arrows directing traffic away from pedestrians and cyclists, have been shown to reduce the number of traffic accidents involving these groups.

Gordon Lovegrove, a UBC Okanagan associate professor in the School of Engineering, suggests a bit of visual reinforcement, combined with driver education ingrained into safety apparel, may curb unnecessary accidents and fatalities.

According to the World Health Organization, almost half of the traffic fatalities are pedestrians and cyclists. And while improved vehicle designs and technologies can protect drivers, he explains that vulnerable road users (VRUs) -- mostly cyclists and walkers -- rely primarily on infrastructure systems such as separated sidewalks and cycle track networks to reduce their risk and navigate roads securely.

"Safer vehicle designs and their supporting infrastructure networks have been planned, designed, funded, built, operated, monitored and maintained for decades in a relatively comprehensive state," says Lovegrove. "However, the same cannot be said for vulnerable road users, which have been gaining in popularity as an alternative transportation mode in recent decades."

Lovegrove and his industry collaborator, Takuro Shoji, began their research project by reviewing previous projects focused on communication's role in the safety of vulnerable road users.

"We were curious to find out if communication aids like signage could possibly be more important than visibility aids like reflectors," says Lovegrove.

The researchers used proprietary high-visibility cycling apparel with an arrow symbol to investigate cyclists' perception of driver responses. Although the research was based on a relatively small sample size, results indicate that passing traffic gave cyclists more respect by slowing their speeds and providing wider berths when the riders wore reflective apparel with an arrow symbol.

Lovegrove's research involved road tests using cyclists with and without visibility vests and vests with differing graphics or communication tools. An online survey also determined participants preferred the arrow vest design, including comments that it was the most effective and conveyed a safer 'keep left' message.

"It's funny that sometimes small visual cues for drivers can have a big impact," says Lovegrove. "Drivers have the narrowest margin of error in traffic environments due to the masses they control and the speeds at which they travel."

Lovegrove points out that 'be safe, be seen' is often used when it comes to the safety of VRUs. For example, cyclists have been advised -- or in some jurisdictions mandated -- to use helmets, front and rear lights, reflectors, and brightly-colored clothing with retroreflective markings.

"This reflects a prevalent belief that visibility is the key to reducing vehicle-cyclist collisions," he says. "While overall detectability on the road is critical, evidence suggests that current conspicuity aids cannot provide sustainable safety in their current form, and a more optimal design is needed."

He adds that improvements to infrastructure for VRUs need more investments. However, many governments and road authorities need more capital or have yet to prioritize implementing total VRU safety measures, with many gaps in infrastructure and networks.

"These gaps leave VRUs to take safety into their own hands, including use of conspicuity aids such as high-visibility wear, helmets, bells, and lights with differing levels of effectiveness," he adds. "Until improved infrastructure networks are fully funded and completed, we hypothesize that communication aids are equally, if not more important, than visibility aids for VRU safety."

The research, funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, was published in the latest edition of the journal Sustainability.

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