These results demonstrate the importance of the surface morphology created during the vial forming process. Given the diferences observed, final vial selection should include extensive microscopical and product stress testing studies on multiple vial lots.
Bicycle Level of Service (BLOS) indicators are used to provide objective ratings of the bicycle suitability (or quality) of links or intersections in transport networks. This article uses empirical bicycle route choice data from 467 university students in Trondheim, Norway to test the applicability of BLOS rating schemes for the estimation of whole-journey route choice. The methods evaluated share a common trait of being applicable for mixed traffic urban environments: Bicycle Compatibility Index (BCI), Bicycle Stress Level (BSL), Sixth Edition Highway Capacity Manual (HCM6), and Level of Traffic Stress (LTS). Routes are generated based on BLOS-weighted networks and the suitability of these routes is determined by finding the percentage overlap with empirical route choices. The results show that BCI provides the best match with empirical route data in all five origin–destination pairs, followed by HCM6. BSL and LTS which are not empirically founded have a lower match rate, although the differences between the four methods are relatively small. By iterating the detour rate that cyclists are assumed to be willing to make, it is found that the best match with modelled BLOS routes is achieved between 15 and 21% additional length. This falls within the range suggested by existing empirical research on willingness to deviate from the shortest path, however, it is uncertain whether the method will deliver the comparable findings in other cycling environments.
One fundamental aspect of promoting utilitarian bicycle use involves making modifications to the built environment to improve the safety, efficiency and enjoyability of cycling. Revealed preference data on bicycle route choice can assist greatly in understanding the actual behaviour of a highly heterogeneous group of users, which in turn assists the prioritisation of infrastructure or other built environment initiatives. This systematic review seeks to compare the relative strengths and weaknesses of the empirical approaches for evaluating whole journey route choices of bicyclists. Two electronic databases were systematically searched for a selection of keywords pertaining to bicycle and route choice. In total seven families of methods are identified: GPS devices, smartphone applications, crowdsourcing, participant-recalled routes, accompanied journeys, egocentric cameras and virtual reality. The study illustrates a trade-off in the quality of data obtainable and the average number of participants. Future additional methods could include dockless bikeshare, multiple camera solutions using computer vision and immersive bicycle simulator environments.
Several challenges accompany the current growth of bike and truck volumes in urban areas, with traffic safety being one of the most critical concerns. Bike-truck accidents present a direct measure of the safety; however, these are rare events. Furthermore, accident records are subject to several shortcomings. Thus, safety studies should not rely solely on accident analysis, and conducting the additional methods is advisable (e.g. surveys or conflict analysis). This paper discusses the results of a retrospective survey of Norwegian utilitarian cyclists, which collected data about their involvement in conflicts with trucks in urban areas. An online questionnaire was disseminated within major cities in Norway, and 631 valid responses were analysed. The results revealed large numbers of conflicts experienced by cyclists, with the most frequent types of conflicts being (1) truck overtaking bicyclist and (2) right-turning truck vs. straightriding bicyclist and. Visibility issues were frequently mentioned as the important risk factors. Almost all cyclists blamed truck drivers as the party responsible for the conflict. The distribution of conflict categories differed between major Norwegian cities, which corresponds with the findings of a previous accident analysis. Insights developed are useful to local policy makers both in Norway and abroad, when considering how to plan for increasing numbers of cyclists and trucks in urban areas.
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