Attitudes, risk perception and risk-taking behaviour among regular cyclists in Norway

Abstract

The main aim of the study was to investigate whether attitudes toward traffic safety, risk perception, worry, risk tolerance, safety priority, and accident involvement are associated with cyclists’ risk-taking behaviour. Two types of cyclists’ risk-taking behaviour were studied: (1) ‘violation of traffic rules, and (2) ‘conflicts with other road users when cycling’. The study was based on a questionnaire survey carried out in 2017 among regular cyclists in Norway (n = 426). The results revealed that cyclists’ risk-taking behaviour was influenced by their attitudes, risk perception, and accident involvement. Pragmatic attitudes toward traffic rule violations and safety priority were found to be important predictors of the frequency of rule violations when cycling. Attitudes towards the enforcement of traffic rules for cyclists and dissatisfaction with the traffic rules for cyclists were found to be important predictors for the frequency of situations involving conflicts with other road users. Risk perception and accident involvement were found to be associated with conflicts with other road users, but not with rule violations when cycling. The findings show that risk perception and attitudes toward traffic safety are important for cyclists’ risk-taking behaviour in traffic. The road infrastructure and the traffic regulations are primarily planned for car drivers and pedestrians. If cyclists’ attitudes are to be changed, the cycling infrastructure and traffic rules for cyclists would need to be adjusted to cyclists as road users. When building new infrastructure and implementing new safety measures for cyclists, it is important to include attitude campaigns, as well as communications to the public about safety and the risks linked to cycling. Attitude campaigns could be used to strengthen the authorities’ communications that cyclists are prioritized as road users.