“Not as Safe as I Believed”: Differences in Perceived and Self-Reported Cycling Behavior between Riders and Non-Riders

Abstract

Cycling behavior remains a key issue for explaining several traffic causalities occurring every day. However, recent studies have shown how the assessment of the own safety-related behaviors on the road may substantially differ from how third parties assess them. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between cyclists’ self-reported behavior and the proxy-reported behavior that other (non-cyclist) road users perceive from bike riders. For this purpose, this study used data from two samples: (i) 1064 cyclists (M = 32.83 years) answering the Cycling Behavior Questionnaire—CBQ, and (ii) 1070 non-cyclists (M = 30.83 years) answering an adapted version of the CBQ for external raters—ECBQ. The results show how the self-reported and proxy-reported behaviors of cyclists greatly differ in terms of all behavioral factors composing the CBQ model, i.e., traffic violations, riding errors, and positive behaviors. Also, external raters (non-cyclists) are those targeting significantly riskier behaviors than those self-reported by cyclists. These discrepancies between perceived behaviors may give rise to conflicting viewpoints on the interaction between bicycle riders and other road users. Therefore, this study underscores the importance of behavioral awareness, providing highlights for future studies on the behavioral interaction between cyclists and other road users. Results can be used to improve the road safety of all road users by giving indications on self-and proxy-perceived safety-related behaviors and visibility of protective riding habits.

Analysis of students’ anger during riding electric bicycles on campus

“…Maybe not everyone will honestly report this type of dangerous behavior. The self-reported and the external-rated behavior greatly differ ( Useche et al., 2021 ). Therefore, we can explore whether the self-perception of riding electric bicycles will be different from that of other users in the future.…”

Differences in the Assessment of Safe and Risky Driving Behaviors: Pedestrians Versus Drivers

“…The findings of this study on pedestrians and drivers’ perceptions of common traffic behaviors point out that there are significant differences in regard to the way they perceive other road users’ behavior. Previous studies have also addressed certain discrepancies on the assessment of the risky roadand protective behaviors performed by third parties, showing that—overall—road users tend to perceive their road behaviors as “safer” than the ones assessed in other users (Useche et al, 2021). Concretely, the results of this research have depicted how pedestrians do not hold a considerably positive opinion of drivers’ behavior; as a matter of fact, significant differences are spotted in those behaviors that can be considered unsafe.…”

“…It is important to consider the possibility of having made conclusions over potentially biased information as a first key limitation. Even though the anonymity of the study and its rigorously scientific character were emphasized, recent studies have sometimes shown huge discrepancies between the self-reported and the actual behavior of road users (Drupsteen et al, 2013; Useche et al, 2021).…”

“…Similar investigations performed on the cyclist population reflect that external raters reported significantly riskier behaviors than those performed by cyclists themselves. Also, the perceived frequency of performance of determinate behaviors was very different according to driving mistakes, positive behaviors in traffic, and infractions (Useche, Gené-Morales, et al, 2021).…”

Is safety in the eye of the beholder? Discrepancies between self-reported and proxied data on road safety behaviors—A systematic review

“…Also, this pattern shows a certain level of concordance with the one found by studies that compare perceptions from different road users regarding risky or safety behaviors of single types of road users. In this type of studies, self-reported road behaviors are largely positive when road users grade their own behavior, while external raters' assessment tends to be comparatively critical (Wood et al, 2009;Arai et al, 2010;Li et al, 2016;Duarte and Mouro, 2019;Useche et al, 2021a).…”