title: The influence of a bicycle commuter's appearance on drivers' overtaking proximities: an on-road test of bicyclist stereotypes, high-visibility clothing and safety aids in the United Kingdom.
abstract: This study looked at whether drivers overtaking a bicyclist changed the proximities of their passes in response to the level of experience and skill signalled by the bicyclist's appearance. Seven outfits were tested, ranging from a stereotypical sport rider's outfit, portraying high experience and skill, to a vest with 'novice cyclist' printed on the back, portraying low experience. A high-visibility bicycling jacket was also used, as were two commercially available safety vests, one featuring a prominent mention of the word 'police' and a warning that the rider was video-recording their journey, and one modelled after a police officer's jacket but with a letter changed so it read 'POLITE'. An ultrasonic distance sensor recorded the space left by vehicles passing the bicyclist on a regular commuting route. 5690 data points fulfilled the criteria for the study and were included in the analyses. The only outfit associated with a significant change in mean passing proximities was the police/video-recording jacket. Contrary to predictions, drivers treated the sports outfit and the 'novice cyclist' outfit equivalently, suggesting they do not adjust overtaking proximity as a function of a rider's perceived experience. Notably, whilst some outfits seemed to discourage motorists from passing within 1m of the rider, approximately 1-2% of overtakes came within 50 cm no matter what outfit was worn. This suggests there is little riders can do, by altering their appearance, to prevent the very closest overtakes; it is suggested that infrastructural, educational or legal measures are more promising for preventing drivers from passing extremely close to bicyclists.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Bath, United Kingdom. Electronic address: i.walker@bath.ac.uk.
authors: Ian
authors: I
authors: Walker
authors: Brunel Institute for Bioengineering, Brunel University, United Kingdom.
authors: Ian
authors: I
authors: Garrard
authors: Brunel Institute for Bioengineering, Brunel University, United Kingdom.
authors: Felicity
authors: F
authors: Jowitt
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001642:Bicycling; D003020:Clothing / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D013240:Stereotyping; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Bicycling; Bicyclists; Experience; High-visibility; Overtaking; Proximity; Stereotypes