Safety at cycle crossings : The relationship between motor vehicle drivers’ yielding behaviour and cyclists’ traffic safety

With a high share of motor vehicles yielding to crossing cyclists, cyclists’ waiting time decreases and their level of service increases. The main aim of this paper is to study how this propensity to yield is connected to the traffic safety situation for cyclists at cycle crossings in a Swedish context. In a previous study, motor vehicle drivers’ yielding behaviour was studied at 65 cycle crossings with different signage. In the present study, seven of these crossings were selected and yielding data at these locations were complemented with accident data, studies of traffic conflicts, and cycle flow. In addition, a questionnaire on road users’ perceptions of yielding rules at cycle crossings was distributed. The analyses showed that the conflict frequency per crossing cyclist decreased with increased propensity to give way i.e. cyclists’ traffic safety increases with motor vehicle drivers’ propensity to yield. The analyses further showed that motor vehicles drivers’ propensity to give way increased with increased cycle flow and that the conflict frequency per crossing cyclist decreased with increased cycle flow. A conclusion from the analysis is that signage alone at cycle crossings does not likely affect the traffic safety situation at the location, but it is rather the combination of signage, type of location, cycle flow, yielding behaviour, and motor vehicle speed, where some factors most likely covary, that is important. An interesting indication that should be researched further is that the perceived unclear rules at cycle crossings might contribute to an increased propensity to yield and thus an increase in traffic safety