ADVanCE: Attention of DriVers and Cyclists in the same Environment

Important results from the project

The goal of the project was to investigate how drivers and cyclists interpret the same traffic environment, and how they sample information based on this. Better knowledge about how different road user groups understand a traffic environment and act in it should lead to an increased understanding for how conflicts and misunderstandings emerge in traffic. This is based on the preconception that the same traffic environment places different demands on the different road user groups, because the environment is built with motorised traffic as dimensioning vehicle.

Expected long term effects

The traffic environment is clearest for car traffic, as attentional demands often are rule-based and visible in the environment. Cyclists must consider informal rules to a greater extent, which are not as openly visible in the built infrastructure. Connected to this, cyclists feel that their position on the power hierarchy is lower, which can lead to illegal behaviours. This does not spring from a person’s character, but is a consequence of the actual role one has in traffic right now (cyclist vs. car driver).

Approach and implementation

23 test persons cycled and drove along the same route. Selected locations were analysed based on the demands put on the road user groups and behaviour in relation to the demands. Pavement cycling was investigated as illegal behaviour showing how the power hierarchy in traffic influences how the system is experienced. Additionally, adaptation strategies were found to be connected to the actual role as road user instead of one’s usual role that is, the vehicle type and not a person’s character determines the behaviour.