Problems of the Presence of Different Groups of Road Users in the Same Traffic Environment

The article presents an overview of foreign studies of the road transport environment from the point of view of relations between different groups of its participants: drivers, cyclists, motorcyclists, users of electric scooters. It is shown how these relations are related to ideas about inequality in road traffic, marginality or even illegitimacy of some participants, with the problem of alienation and the emergence of intergroup effects (group favoritism, etc.). The consequence of ideas about groups as “road minorities” can lead to such percepts as “blindness of inattention”, affecting safety in this environment, and increased aggression towards “others”. A number of studies also help to understand the difference in attitudes towards familiar and new road users. Road sharing causes stress not only for those who are classified as vulnerable road traffic rules, but also for motorists. The tolerance of road users towards each other can be increased through the experience of using different vehicles. Such experiences develop reflexivity and, in general, should contribute to improving the safety of movement of different groups in mixed flow conditions.

1. Nikolaeva L.V., Litvinova E.Yu. Predstavlenie voditelei o velosipedistakh kak "chuzhikh" na doroge (na primere zarubezhnykh issledovanii) [Elektronnyi resurs] [The perception of drivers about cyclists as "strangers" on the road (on the example of foreign studies)]. Sotsial'naya psikhologiya: voprosy teorii i praktiki [Social psychology: questions of theory and practice]: materialy VII Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii pamyati M.Yu. Kondrat'eva: Moskva, 12—13 maya 2022 g. Moscow: MSUPE, 2022, pp. 316—318. URL: https://psyjournals.ru/nonserialpublications/socpsy2022/socpsy2022.pdf (Accessed 28.03.2023). (In Russ.).
2. Aldred R. Incompetent or Too Competent? Negotiating Everyday Cycling Identities in a Motor Dominated Society. Mobilities, 2013. Vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 252—271. DOI:10.1080/17450101.2012.696342
3. Kaplan S., Mikolasek I., Bruhova Foltynova H., Janstrup K.H., Prato C.G. Attitudes, norms and difficulties underlying road sharing intentions as drivers and cyclists: Evidence from the Czech Republic. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 2019. Vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 350—362. DOI:10.1080/15568318.2018.1471556
4. Bonham J., Johnson M., Haworth N. On constituting cyclists as 'hazards'. Journal of Transport Geography, 2020. Vol. 84, article ID 102675, 8 p. DOI:10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102675
5. Brömmelstroet M. Framing Systemic Traffic Violence: Media Coverage of Dutch Traffic Crashes. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2020. Vol. 5, article ID 100109, 14 p. DOI:10.1016/j.trip.2020.100109
6. Delbosc A., Naznin F., Haslam N., Haworth N. Dehumanization of cyclists predicts self-reported aggressive behaviour toward them: A pilot study. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2019. Vol. 62, pp. 681—689. DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2019.03.005
7. Alonso F., Esteban C., Faus M., Useche S.A. Differences in the Assessment of Safe and Risky Driving Behaviors: Pedestrians Versus Drivers. SAGE Open, 2022. Vol. 12, no. 2, 12 p. DOI:10.1177/21582440221102444
8. Oldmeadow J.A., Povey S., Povey A., Critchley C. Driver anger towards cyclists in Australia: Investigating the role of the perceived legitimacy of cyclists as road users. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2019. Vol. 63, pp. 240—251. DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2019.04.021
9. Basford L., Reid S., Lester T., Thomson J., Tolmie A. Driver's Perceptions of cyclists: Prepared for Charging and Local Transport Division, Department for Transport [Elektronnyi resurs]. Wokingham: Transportation Research Laboratory, 2002. 38 p. (Transportation Research Laboratory Report TRL549). URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235357554_Driver's_perceptions_of_cyclists (Accessed 15.06.2022).
10. Ralph K., Iacobucci E., Thigpen C.G., Goddard T. Editorial Patterns in Bicyclist and Pedestrian Crash Reporting. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2019. Vol. 2673, no. 2, pp. 663—671. DOI:10.1177/0361198119825637
11. Egan R. Sacrificing entitlement for self-preservation: 'privatising vulnerability' as a cyclist in Dublin. Mobilities, 2022. Vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 780—794. DOI:10.1080/17450101.2021.1985379
12. Boufous S., Beck B., Macniven R., Pettit C., Ivers R. Facilitators and barriers to cycling in older residents of New South Wales, Australia. Journal of Transport & Health, 2021. Vol. 21, article ID 101056, 11 p. DOI:10.1016/j.jth.2021.101056
13. Debnath А.К., Haworth N., Schramm A., Heesch K.C., Somoray K. Factors influencing noncompliance with bicycle passing distance laws. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2018. Vol. 115, pp. 137—142. DOI:10.1016/j.aap.2018.03.016
14. Fevyer D., Aldred R. Rogue drivers, typical cyclists, and tragic pedestrians: a Critical Discourse Analysis of media reporting of fatal road traffic collisions. Mobilities, 2022. Vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 759—779. DOI:10.1080/17450101.2021.1981117
15. Fruhen L.S., Rossen I., Griffin M.A. The factors shaping car drivers' attitudes towards cyclist and their impact on behavior. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2019. Vol. 123, pp. 235—242. DOI:10.1016/j.aap.2018.11.006
16. Fruhen L.S., Rossen I., Kanse L. Changes in car drivers' attitudes and behaviours, and cyclist numbers following the introduction of a cyclist minimum passing distance law. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2021. Vol. 156, article ID 106108, 10 p. DOI:10.1016/j.aap.2021.106108
17. Ghanayim M., Bekhor S. Modelling bicycle route choice using data from a GPS-assisted household survey. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 2018. Vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 158—177. DOI:10.18757/ejtir.2018.18.2.3228
18. Grimes A., Subramaniam D.P., Lightner J. Misconceptions about biking and driving: Drivers understanding of Missouri bicycle laws. Journal of Transport & Health, 2021. Vol. 21, article ID 101044, 12 p. DOI:10.1016/j.jth.2021.101044
19. Hoekstra A.T.G., Twisk D.A.M., Hagenzieker M.P. Do road user roles serve as social identities? Differences between self-described cyclists and car drivers. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2018. Vol. 59, pp. 365—377. DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2018.09.006
20. Jacobsen P.L. Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling. Injury Prevention, 2015. Vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 276—277. DOI:10.1136/injuryprev-2015-041687
21. Kaplan S., Luria R., Prato C.G. The relation between cyclists' perceptions of drivers, self-concepts and their willingness to cycle in mixed traffic. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2019. Vol. 62, pp. 45—57. DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2018.12.011
22. Marshall W.E., Piatkowski D., Johnson A. Scofflaw bicycling: Illegal but rational. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2017. Vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 805—836. DOI:10.5198/jtlu.2017.871
23. McIlroy R.C., Plant K.L., Stanton N.A. Thinking aloud on the road: Thematic differences in the experiences of drivers, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2021. Vol. 83, pp. 192—209. DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2021.09.014
24. Angelis M., Puchades V.M., Fraboni F., Pietrantoni L., Prati G. Negative attitudes towards cyclists influence the acceptance of an in-vehicle cyclist detection system. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2017. Vol. 49, pp. 244—256. DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2017.06.021
25. Nixon D.V. Speeding capsules of alienation? Social (dis)connections amongst drivers, cyclists and pedestrians in Vancouver, BC. Geoforum, 2014. Vol. 54, pp. 91—102. DOI:10.1016/j.geoforum.2014.04.002
26. James O., Swiderski J.I., Hicks J., Teoman D., Buehler R. Pedestrians and E-Scooters: An Initial Look at E-Scooter Parking and Perceptions by Riders and Non-Riders. Sustainability, 2019. Vol. 11, article ID 5591, 13 p. DOI:10.3390/su11205591
27. Prati G., Puchades V., Pietrantoni L. Cyclists as a minority group? Transportation research part F: traffic psychology and behavior, 2017. Vol. 47, pp. 34—41. DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2017.04.008
28. Prato C.G., Halldórsdóttir K., Nielsen O.A. Evaluation of land-use and transport network effects on cyclists' route choices in the Copenhagen Region in value-of-distance space. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 2018. Vol. 12, no. 10, pp. 770—781. DOI:10.1080/15568318.2018.1437236
29. Ravensbergen L. 'I wouldn't take the risk of the attention, you know? Just a lone girl biking': examining the gendered and classed embodied experiences of cycling. Social & Cultural Geography, 2022. Vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 678—696. DOI:10.1080/14649365.2020.1806344
30. Fyhri A., Sundfør H.B., Bjørnskau T., Laureshyn A. Safety in numbers for cyclists — conclusions from a multidisciplinary study of seasonal change in interplay and conflicts. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2017. Vol. 105, pp. 124—133. DOI:10.1016/j.aap.2016.04.039
31. Sarrica M., Alecci E., Passafaro P., Rimano A., Mazzara Br.M. The social representations of cycling practices: An analysis of symbolic, emotional, material and bodily components, and their implication for policies. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2019. Vol. 64, pp. 119—132. DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2019.04.019
32. Useche S.A., O'Hern St., Gonzalez-Marin A., Gene-Morales J., Alonso F., Stephens A.N. Unsafety on two wheels, or social prejudice? Proxying behavioral reports on bicycle and e-scooter riding safety — A mixed-methods study. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2022. Vol. 89, pp. 168—182. DOI:10.1016/j.trf.2022.06.015
33. Walker I., Garrard I., Jowitt F. The influence of a bicycle commuter's appearance on drivers' overtaking proximities: An on-road test of bicyclist stereotypes, high-visibility clothing and safety aids in the United Kingdom. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2014. Vol. 64, pp. 69—77. DOI:10.1016/j.aap.2013.11.007
34. Walker I., Robinson D.L. Bicycle helmet wearing is associated with closer overtaking by drivers: A response to Olivier and Walter, 2013. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2019. Vol. 123, pp. 107—113. DOI:10.1016/j.aap.2018.11.015
35. Schmidt B., Kessler L., Holroyd C.B., Miltner W.H.R. Wearing a bike helmet leads to less cognitive control, revealed by lower frontal midline theta power and risk indifference. Psychophysiology, 2019. Vol. 56, no. 12, article ID e13458, 10 p. DOI:10.1111/psyp.13458