Perceived risk in bike-car interactions: are bikes really perceived less safe than cars?
Abstract
Many countries face an increase in the number of cyclists, introducing a change in the interactions to be handled by road users, and thus a change in risks. Interestingly, although a lot of studies focus on perceived risk by car drivers, none investigates perceived risk by cyclists, or compares cyclists’ and drivers’ perception of risk. Our aim was to explore, in risky road situations, subjective risk in 3 different interaction types: cyclist vs cyclist, cyclist vs driver, driver vs driver. Moreover, as interaction with a car is a very dangerous situation for cyclists, as shown by crash statistics, we studied, in this interaction, whether risk was perceived to the same degree by cyclists and drivers, and whether this perception is influenced by risk source (self/other). The study consisted in 2 online surveys among car drivers (age 20 to 75), one for those who were experienced cyclists (N=336) and one for those who were not cyclists (N=92), who evaluated their personal risk, as cyclists or as drivers, of having a road crash if they were in interaction with a bike or a car, for each of 6 risky road situations. Results show that, in the interaction between cyclist and driver, cyclists facing a car perceive more risk than drivers facing a bike. Both cyclists and drivers perceive less risk when they are the risk source, and as their experience increase. Implications of these results on perceived risk and perceived control for interventions to improve road safety are discussed.