Introducing right turn on red for cyclists—a before-after study on behavioural adaption in Germany
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55329/iehf1403Keywords:
bicycle-bicycle interaction, traffic regulation, pilot study, Behavioural observation, traffic conflictsAbstract
Right Turn On Red (RTOR) for cyclists is a low-cost and easy-to-implement improvement for cycling that is practised in several European countries and has been discussed for implementation in Germany. This study investigates the effects of introducing RTOR for cyclists based on video observations at 43 sites in nine German cities including all relevant types of cycling infrastructure (mixed traffic, cycle lanes, cycle tracks). Using a before-after approach, the study compares cyclist behaviour in terms of compliance with traffic rules and conflicts with other users. Overall, the introduction of RTOR legalised behaviour that had already been practised. The share of cyclists turning right on red, which was already high at 80% before the introduction of RTOR, increased to 93% with RTOR, and cyclists were more likely to comply with traffic rules and less likely to cycle on the pavement. Conflicts were mainly observed between right-turning cyclists and other cyclists as well as pedestrians. The number of conflicts increased after the introduction of RTOR while conflict criticality decreased. Cyclists gave more space to other users and obstructed them less with RTOR in place. The only exception to this were conflicts in the approach, where more close overtaking manoeuvres and wriggling through other users were observed. RTOR should therefore only be recommended if sufficient space is available or cyclists mainly turn right at an intersection. Based on the results of this study, recommendations for RTOR for cyclists have been introduced in the German Highway Code.
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Author Biographies
Bettina Schröter, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Germany
Bettina Schröter is a research associate at the Chair of Mobility System Planning at TUD. After studying traffic engineering in Dresden, she is now a PhD student. Her research interests focus on bicycle safety in general and the analysis of bicycle crashes and bicyclists’ safety-related behaviour in particular.
CRediT contribution: Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Software, Visualization, Writing—original draft.
Sebastian Hantschel, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Germany
Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Hantschel is a postdoc researcher at the Chair of Mobility System Planning at TUD. He finished his PhD in 2022 that analysed determinants of bicyclists’ behaviour and safety in mixed traffic situations on major roads in urban areas. His research interests focus on traffic safety and safety-related behaviour of vulnerable road users.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Supervision, Visualization, Writing—review & editing.
Miriam Niestegge, Autobahn GmbH, Germany
Miriam Niestegge is team lead for road safety at the Autobahn GmbH. She is in charge of general crash data analysis and the development of internal processes and guidelines of safety management procedures. From 2016-2023 she was part of PTV Transport Consult GmbH with a focus on research and consulting on road safety topics like safety management of road infrastructure, national and regional road safety programs and strategies, crash data analysis and safety relevant traffic behaviour.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Visualization.
Hagen Schüller, PTV Transport Consult GmbH, Germany
Dr.-Ing. Hagen Schüller works as a director for Traffic Management and Road Safety at PTV Transport Consult GmbH in Stuttgart Germany. He is doing consulting and research in the field of road safety covering topics like safety management of road infrastructure, national and regional road safety programs and strategies, crash prediction models and crash modification figures, safety relevant traffic behavior or norms and guidelines regarding management procedures.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision.
Regine Gerike, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Germany
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Regine Gerike is head of the Chair of Mobility System Planning at TUD. Before joining TUD, she chaired the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna, Austria. From 2008 to 2012 she was assistant professor at Technische Universität München, head of the Research centre mobility and transport and of the PhD-program “mobil.LAB Sustainable Mobility in the Metropolitan Region of Munich”. Her research interests include transport planning and traffic safety with a focus on vulnerable road users.
CRediT contribution: Supervision, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Bettina Schröter, Sebastian Hantschel, Miriam Niestegge, Hagen Schüller, Regine Gerike
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Funding data
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Bundesministerium für Verkehr und Digitale Infrastruktur
Grant numbers FE 82.0690/2017
