Driver Behavior When Overtaking Cyclists Riding in Different Group Configurations on Two-Lane Rural Roads

Abstract

The presence of cyclists on Spanish rural roads is ever increasing and currently frequent, and thus becoming a serious safety concern. In rural environments, the risk of a crash is higher than in rural areas. The main cause is the higher speed of motor vehicles during overtaking manoeuvres. This manoeuvre is especially challenging when cyclists ride in groups as they may change size, length, shape, and speed along their route. These variables and those related to road cross-section can influence driver behaviour when overtaking a group of cyclists. To study this, instrumented bicycles were used to ride along five road segments with different geometric and traffic characteristics. Cyclists rode individually and in groups. Overtaking was evaluated by analysing the lateral distance, the speed, and other characteristics of the manoeuvre. Wider roads presented higher lateral clearances and overtaking speeds. Narrower roads had a high opposing lane invasion but a high level of compliance with the minimum lateral clearance. A higher clearance and lower speed of overtaking vehicles was registered when cyclists rode in line. Compliance with the 1.5 m clearance depended on the group configuration, being higher when cyclists rode in line. However, overtaking cyclists riding two abreast presented more accelerative manoeuvres, especially on narrow roads.

Research into the Safe Distance for Opening a Car Door in Order to Avoid Approaching Motorcycles from the Rear

“…ANOVA analysis is mainly used to compare the variation in the means of different groups. It is often used in vehicle behavioural observation experiments, such as in [18][19][20]. The results of the ANOVA analysis produce an F value, which shows the variation within a group and between groups.…”

Implementation of a Low-Cost Data Acquisition System on an E-Scooter for Micromobility Research

“…In previous research [ 4 ], bicycles were instrumented to characterize overtaking manoeuvres, measuring bicycle speed, lateral clearance left by the motorized vehicle when overtaking a bicycle, and overtaking speed. These bicycles were equipped with a Laser Technology Inc. T200/T100 laser system, that consist of a couple of laser rangefingers, perpendicular to bicycle axis, on the front and the rear of the bicycle.…”

“…The Garmin VIRB Elite video camera was selected because the authors have some of them and they were previously used for bicycle instrumentation [ 4 ]. The video camera allows diverse video modes, including high-definition recording at 60 fps.…”

“…Most studies based their research on data collected thanks to an instrumented bicycle [ 3 ]. Used instrumented bicycles are usually equipped with expensive laser systems to collect distance and speed data, a global positioning system (GPS) to collect position and speed data, and video cameras [ 4 ]. In order to reduce costs, several studies have based their findings on custom-made devices using: (i) distance sensors connected to an Arduino Uno microcontroller card [ 5 ]; (ii) an ultrasonic sensor, a GPS receiver, (iii) a microcontroller and a data logger [ 6 ]; (iv) a device including an Adafruit microprocessor, GPS sensor, ultrasonic sensor, and lithium ion [ 7 ]; (v) a device based on Raspberry Pi, with a micro lidar as a distance sensor, a GPS, and a camera [ 8 ].…”

Evaluation of the Influence of Road Geometry on Overtaking Cyclists on Two-Lane Rural Roads

“…Lopez et al [ 9 ] analysed the objective and subjective perception of risk in the overtaking of cyclists riding in groups on rural two-lane roads in Spain. Recently, another study performed in Spain by Pérez-Zuriaga [ 10 ] presented a descriptive analysis to explore driver behaviour when overtaking cyclists riding in different group configurations. Overtaking manoeuvres were evaluated by analysing the lateral distance, the speed, and other characteristics of the manoeuvre.…”