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New study examines what influences drivers’ aggressive behaviour towards cyclistsRoad Rage © Demonike | Dreamstime.com

New study examines what influences drivers’ aggressive behaviour towards cyclists

Non-cyclists are said to be more influenced by perceived social norms when behind the wheel
by Alex Bowden
Wed, Sep 02, 2015 15:32
38

A new study has been published examining what shapes car drivers’ aggression towards cyclists. Dr Laura Fruhen of the University of Western Australia and Professor Rhona Flin of the University of Aberdeen looked at how attitudes and social norms inform drivers’ behaviour.

A sample of 276 drivers completed an online questionnaire concerning their attitudes towards cyclists; their attitudes towards risky driving; their perception of social norms concerning aggressive driving towards cyclists; and the frequency with which they engaged in aggressive driving behaviour.

As you might expect, negative attitudes towards cyclists were more pronounced in non-cyclists than cyclists. Fruhen also told phys.org that the association between negative attitudes and aggressive driving behaviour was stronger in cyclists than non-cyclists.

"We found both that motorists' attitudes towards cyclists and their perceptions of others' aggressive behaviour towards cyclists influenced how often they reported engaging in aggressive behaviour towards those on bikes.”

The perception of how others behave towards cyclists also had a stronger association with aggressive driving in non-cyclists than cyclists. However, attitudes towards risk taking did not seem to affect people’s behaviour behind the wheel.

Fruhen hopes that the findings will be of use to campaigns geared towards improving the interaction between cyclists and motorists.

"In the absence of cycling infrastructure separating them, both these groups will have to work on sharing the roads. It is about being considerate from both sides.

"Drivers may see cyclists as annoying because they slow them down but they should remember that each cyclist they encounter is also just another person trying to get from A to B.

"One cyclist actually means one less car, less congestion and less pollution, which are increasingly important issues in our growing and more densely populated cities."

In 2012, social psychologist Dr Ian Walker said that the reasons behind driver aggression towards cyclists cannot be accounted for with normal psychological explanations. Walker examined a number of factors he felt could be having an influence, but concluded that even combined they could not explain all the anger that cyclists experience. "So there’s clearly one or more important variables that we’ve not identified yet.”

academic study
aggression
road rage
Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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38 comments

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Pub bike replied to danthomascyclist | 9 years ago
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danthomascyclist wrote:

1) Every time I turn right on my bike, cars can still squeeze past whilst I wait to turn. If I was in a car they'd be forced to wait

Agree...except 1) which doesn’t count for me. Unless the road is really wide enough I take primary. Standing/balancing in the middle of a busy road waiting to turn right with cars, vans, and even buses brushing past me on the left, and motorbikes and scooters third lining coming at me head-on trying to take my signalling arm off is not my cup of tea. Each to his own 1

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stenmeister replied to Pub bike | 9 years ago
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Pub bike wrote:
danthomascyclist wrote:

1) Every time I turn right on my bike, cars can still squeeze past whilst I wait to turn. If I was in a car they'd be forced to wait

Agree...except 1) which doesn’t count for me. Unless the road is really wide enough I take primary. Standing/balancing in the middle of a busy road waiting to turn right with cars, vans, and even buses brushing past me on the left, and motorbikes and scooters third lining coming at me head-on trying to take my signalling arm off is not my cup of tea. Each to his own 1

This only happened to me last week for the first time and I didn't like it. I waited just to the left of the line in the road and three cars undertook me on my left as I waited to turn right. It was very unnerving and so next time I am going to sit in the middle of the lane waiting to turn, in the same way that a car would.

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PhilRuss replied to stenmeister | 9 years ago
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Jolly good, STENMEISTER.....that's what you should be doing. But sooner or later a driver waiting behind you will deliberately bump your rear wheel (as has happened to me twice or thrice) because YOU ARE NOT A MOTOR VEHICLE and have no right to road-space/road-rights...unless you are a very large geezer, that is. I'm average size and weight, and so now, when I'm in that position (waiting in lane to turn right) I first turn my head and make eye-contact with the driver of the vehicle behind me....which says "I've seen you, and seen your vehicle...."

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PhilRuss replied to stenmeister | 9 years ago
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[[[[[[ Test-send

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hawkinspeter | 9 years ago
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I reckon it's related to people perception of their "personal space". When someone gets into a car, their personal space expands somewhat and they can get very agitated when they feel that someone is intruding.

The other important aspect is the stress that a lot of drivers feel. A stressed driver is far more likely to lash out at other road users.

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flippineck replied to hawkinspeter | 9 years ago
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we are all doomed if we don't get on a bike doomed save the plant crush a car you seen that big machine that crushes cars and 20 bikes come out of its rear end

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Carton replied to flippineck | 9 years ago
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flippineck wrote:

we are all doomed if we don't get on a bike doomed save the plant crush a car you seen that big machine that crushes cars and 20 bikes come out of its rear end

Optimus Prime?

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Scoob_84 | 9 years ago
0 likes

IQ must play a factor too

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