Cycling on the edge: the effects of edge lines, slanted kerbstones, shoulder, and edge strips on cycling behaviour of cyclists older than 50 years

Abstract

To prevent single-bicycle crashes, this study is the first to evaluate effects of slanted kerbstones, edge lines, shoulder strips, and edge strips on cycling behaviour of cyclists !50 years. In Experiment 1, 32 participants cycled on a control path and paths with edge lines, slanted kerbstones, and three types of 0.5 m wide shoulder strips (with grey artificial grass, green artificial grass, or concrete street-print). In Experiment 2, 30 participants cycled a different route including a control path and paths with edge lines or 0.3 m white edge strips. Cyclists rode closer to the main cycle path's edge in the shoulder strips conditions, although the presence of these strips resulted in a larger total distance to the verge compared to the control condition. Furthermore, cyclists cycled further from the verge in the edge strip condition than the control condition. Safety implications of the shoulder and edge strips are considered to be positive.

Characteristics of older cyclists with self-perceived needs for improvement in cycling competence: SiFAr trial

“…The development of the e-bike 1 as a comfortable alternative to conventional bicycles has further increased the popularity of cycling in recent years [7]. Accompanying this trend, bicycle-related risks increase, and especially older cyclists are in great danger of being injured or killed in an accident, disregarding the fact that minor accidents are traditionally underrepresented in official statistics [5,[8][9][10][11]. The higher vulnerability of older cyclists is caused by the age-related decline of physical and cognitive function, which requires them to adapt their cycling and traffic behavior to their mental and physical abilities [7,12].…”