title: Riding through red lights: the rate, characteristics and risk factors of non-compliant urban commuter cyclists.
abstract: This study determined the rate and associated factors of red light infringement among urban commuter cyclists. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using a covert video camera to record cyclists at 10 sites across metropolitan Melbourne, Australia from October 2008 to April 2009. In total, 4225 cyclists faced a red light and 6.9% were non-compliant. The main predictive factor for infringement was direction of travel, cyclists turning left (traffic travels on the left-side in Australia) had 28.3 times the relative odds of infringement compared to cyclists who continued straight through the intersection. Presence of other road users had a deterrent effect with the odds of infringement lower when a vehicle travelling in the same direction was present (OR=0.39, 95% CI 0.28-0.53) or when other cyclists were present (OR=0.26, 95% CI 0.19-0.36). Findings suggest that some cyclists do not perceive turning left against a red signal to be unsafe and the opportunity to ride through the red light during low cross traffic times influences the likelihood of infringement.
authors.affiliation: Monash University Accident Research Centre, Building 70, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia. Marilyn.johnson@monash.edu
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Newstead
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Charlton
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oxley
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001642:Bicycling / Q000293:injuries* / Q000523:psychology*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D004779:Environment Design / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006260:Head Protective Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014739:Victoria; D014741:Video Recording