Atypical intersection of a bicycle path and a carriageway with marked car priority: Which car drivers give way anyway?

Abstract

The issue of the safety of vulnerable road users is particularly important at points of collision with other roads and road users. The most common solution at the intersection of a carriageway and a cycle path is a cycle crossing, with specific rules of priority for cyclists and drivers. However, the constantly increasing number of accidents involving cyclists prompts the creation of new and innovative solutions in infrastructure and traffic organisation. One novel solution in this respect takes the form of intersections of cycle paths with carriageways with traffic organisation that always gives priority to drivers, introduced in the city of Rybnik in Poland. The aim of the study is to analyse the behaviour of drivers at the intersection of the cycle path and the carriageway with signage indicating car priority in a situation when simultaneously a driver was coming along the carriageway and a cyclist was preparing to cross and crossed the intersection. The study took the form of a trial in which two cyclists—a man and a woman—negotiated the designated intersection in two directions. Drivers’ decisions to give or not to give priority were analysed in the context of the cyclist’s gender and direction of travel, as well as observable driver characteristics such as gender and residence based on the vehicle registration number. The study confirms that a significant number of drivers give priority to cyclists despite the rules at the intersection under study. However, no significant differences were found between the behaviour of female and male drivers. The study found that only one variable—place of vehicle registration—had a statistically significant relationship with giving priority to cyclists, contrary to the variables defining the gender of drivers and cyclists.