Driver behavior when overtaking cyclists riding in different group configurations on two-lane rural roads

[EN] 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. Thi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Pérez Zuriaga, Ana María|||0000-0002-8434-1106, MOLL MONTANER, SARA|||0000-0001-5325-2867, López-Maldonado, Griselda|||0000-0001-9012-0599, García García, Alfredo|||0000-0003-1345-3685
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Repositorio:RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/186861
Acceso en línea:https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/186861
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Overtaking cyclists
Two-lane rural road
Safety
Geometric design
Instrumented bicycle
Cyclist group
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Descripción
Sumario:[EN] 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.