Characterization of Bicycle Rider Behavior among Various Street Environments

When bicycle riders use public streets, they have the same rights and obligations as automobile drivers. However, bicycle speeds are typically less than automobiles, making bicycle rider safety a major concern. In order to improve bicycle safety and encourage more cycling, a variety of bicycle traffic control devices are often installed. These include shared lane markings and signs, delineated bike lanes, colored bike lane markings, barriers between bike and auto lanes, and bicycle signals. Austin, Texas has all of these devices along with others installed along various streets. In some locations, virtually all possible bicycle devices are provided but in other places almost no devices are provided. While examining surveillance data of bicycle rider responses to bicycle signals, significantly different rider behavior was observed at locations with many bicycle control devices versus those with few or none. Based on those findings, a paper was written to describe some of the differences, however since that study was done for evaluation of bicycle signals, very little in-depth analyses were possible. The proposed study will supplement the 200 hours of surveillance video already developed to provide detailed analyses of how rider behavior differs in environments rich in control and safety devices compared to environments having few or none.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $112499
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Center for Advanced Multimodal Mobility Solutions and Education

  University of North Carolina, Charlotte
  Charlotte, NC  United States  28223

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  University of North Carolina, Charlotte

  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  9201 University City Boulevard
  Charlotte, NC  United States  28223-0001
• Project Managers:

  Fan, Wei

• Performing Organizations:

  University of Texas at Austin

  Austin, TX  United States  78712
• Principal Investigators:

  Machemehl, Randy

• Start Date: 20171001
• Expected Completion Date: 20180930
• Actual Completion Date: 20180930

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Analysis; Behavior; Bicycles; Cyclists; Safety; Traffic control devices; Traffic signs; Traffic surveillance
• Geographic Terms: Austin (Texas)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01652817
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Advanced Multimodal Mobility Solutions and Education
• Files: UTC, RiP
• Created Date: Dec 3 2017 9:40AM