Rules of the Road: Compliance and Defiance among the Different Types of Cyclists

Abstract

Although cycling has become a more attractive option to commuters in many North American cities recently, significant apprehension remains around its safety. Though risks experienced by cyclists are diverse, the idea that they are because of scofflaw cyclists—cyclists who regularly ignore the rules of the road—remains prevalent. Improving cycling safety requires countering this idea, and therefore an understanding of how different cyclists act under the existing rules. Using a survey of 1,329 cyclists in Montreal, Canada, this study generated a typology of cyclists based on cycling motivations and behaviors and conducted comparisons based on their responses to four cycling rule-breaking scenarios. Our study shows that all cyclist types contravene traffic laws in similar ways, and 0.6% of respondents consistently follow the traffic laws. Breaking the law was often considered the safest option by respondents, which reflects a disconnect between the safety goals of traffic laws and the reality on the streets based on the perspectives of different cyclist types. Although cyclist types may act similarly in response to existing laws, they still respond uniquely to policies aimed at increasing rule adherence. Targeted interventions aimed at educating young cyclists, improving dedicated infrastructure, and prioritizing cycling traffic could increase rule compliance across all types. Through our study, planners, policy makers, and law enforcement could improve cycling safety by better understanding the behavior and rationale taken by cyclists.

Rule compliance and desire lines in Barcelona’s cycling network

“…City managers and planners should thus work to close the gender and age gaps by making cycling a more inclusive activity for all genders, ages, and abilities. One way to do this is to alleviate safety concerns of new or fearful cyclists through inclusive infrastructure based on intuitive travel trajectories and rules (Chaloux and El-Geneidy 2019). It is important to better understand how women and men interact as cyclists with the infrastructure in place, as the installed infrastructure may favor, or exclude, certain cyclist typologies and demographic groups.…”

Biking Where Black: Connecting Transportation Planning and Infrastructure to Disproportionate Policing

“…Nearly all respondents reported breaking a traffic rule regardless of travel mode; the most common reason cyclists did so was for personal safety (Marshall et al, 2017). A study of cyclists in Montreal, Canada, found that only 0.6% of survey respondents consistently followed all traffic laws (Chaloux and El-Geneidy, 2019). Given a set of four hypothetical scenarios, cyclists most often chose to break a traffic rule when they felt it was safer than precisely following the vehicle code.…”

A Rider-Centered Critical Decision Method Study to Better Understand the Challenges to Further Uptake of Cycling

“…The four-cyclist typology is: no way no how, interested but concerned, enthused and confident, and strong and fearless. Chaloux (2019) [17] generated another cyclist typology and used it to compare reactions to varying road scenarios and rule following by different cyclist types. They found that "[u]niquely defined by their motivations to cycle, fearfulness, confidence, and lawfulness, all six cyclist types were in agreement when breaking the rules.…”