Long combination vehicles overtaking cyclists: a field study in regular traffic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55329/xvqs2323Keywords:
cycling comfort, cycling safety, high-capacity transport (HCT), perceived safety, rural roads, trucks, trucks overtakingAbstract
Increased cycling, also in rural areas, is important for transitioning to a more sustainable transport system. Also, long combination vehicles (LCVs), in Sweden labelled high-capacity transport (HCT; up to 34.5 m, the previous limit was 25.25 m) can contribute to this goal. If granted access to a larger share of the road network, those trucks can be used more effectively. However, cycling and other active transport on those roads may be negatively impacted. To investigate direct and indirect effects on cyclists when LCVs are using the same road, a study was conducted in real traffic. Nineteen experienced road cyclists rode on a 5 km long rural road segment. Three trucks of different lengths were driven along the same route, instructed to overtake the cyclists where possible and with a full lane change. This generated 175 overtakes by the trucks and 607 overtakes by other traffic. The cyclists reported the overtakes with the trucks to feel safe and found the length of the truck not to be relevant if a full lane change was made while overtaking. The trucks needed more time to overtake than other traffic, and they also waited longer for an overtaking opportunity. In a car-following situation, the clearance of the following vehicles was influenced by the lead vehicle, making it especially important for heavy vehicles to give cyclists a wide berth. Pending further investigations, the conclusion is that for cyclists to feel safe, a full lane change when overtaking should be standard procedure not only for LCVs, but for motorised traffic in general.
Downloads
Author Biographies
Katja Kircher, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Sweden
Katja Kircher is a research leader at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) in Linköping and is associated with the Swedish Cycling Research Centre. Her main research topic is road user behaviour with a focus on active road users, especially cycling in rural and urban areas, and questions related to attention.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Supervision, Visualization, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing.
Jesper Sandin, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Sweden
Jesper Sandin is a senior researcher at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI). He holds a Ph.D. in vehicle safety and his main research topics are safety performance of heavy trucks and collision avoidance systems, as well as driver behaviour.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Project administration, Resources, Writing—review & editing.
References
Björklund, G. M. (2008). Driver irritation and aggressive behaviour. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 40(3), 1069–1077. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2007.10.014
Bjureberg, J., & Gross, J. J. (2021). Regulating road rage. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 15(3), e12586. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12586
Chapman, J. R., & Noyce, D. A. (2014). Influence of roadway geometric elements on driver behavior when overtaking bicycles on rural roads. Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition), 1(1), 28–38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2095-7564(15)30086-6
Deffenbacher, J. L., Stephens, A. N., & Sullman, M. J. M. (2016). Driving anger as a psychological construct: Twenty years of research using the Driving Anger Scale. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 42, 236–247. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.10.021
Dozza, M. (2020). What is the relation between crashes from crash databases and near crashes from naturalistic data? Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, 12(1), 37–51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2019.1591553
Dozza, M., Schindler, R., Bianchi-Piccinini, G., & Karlsson, J. (2016). How do drivers overtake cyclists? Accident Analysis & Prevention, 88(Supplement C), 29–36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2015.12.008
European Transport Safety Council. (2019). Reducing speeding in Europe (PIN Flash Report No. 36).
Farah, H. (2016). When Do Drivers Abort an Overtaking Maneuver on Two-Lane Rural Roads? Transportation Research Record, 2602(1), 16–25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3141/2602-03
Fishman, E. (2016). Cycling as transport. Transport Reviews, 36(1), 1–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2015.1114271
Fruhen, L. S., & Flin, R. (2015). Car driver attitudes, perceptions of social norms and aggressive driving behaviour towards cyclists. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 83, 162–170. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2015.07.003
Haustein, S., & Møller, M. (2016). Age and attitude: Changes in cycling patterns of different e-bike user segments. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 10(9), 836–846. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2016.1162881
Haworth, N. L., Heesch, K. C., & Schramm, A. (2018). Drivers who don’t comply with a minimum passing distance rule when passing bicycle riders. Journal of Safety Research, 67, 183–188. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2018.10.008
Kay, J. J., Savolainen, P. T., Gates, T. J., & Datta, T. K. (2014). Driver behavior during bicycle passing maneuvers in response to a Share the Road sign treatment. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 70, 92–99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2014.03.009
Kircher, K., Kharrazi, S., Cider, L., Sandin, J., & Larsson, L. (2025). Effects of heavy trucks on cyclists during overtaking manoeuvres: a controlled study. Traffic Safety Research, 9, e000093. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55329/gtaq6532
Kircher, K., & Lindman, M. (2024). Overtaking on rural roads - cyclists’ and motorists’ perspectives. Journal of Cycling and Micromobility Research, 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmr.2024.100044
Kircher, K., Lindman, M., van Eldijk, J., & Weman, J. (2024). Removing barriers to cycling on rural roads (VTI Rapport No. 1220A).
Kircher, K., & Niska, A. (2023). Overtaking cyclists in mixed traffic: Knowledge basis for recommendations for safer cycling (VTI Rapport No. 1189A).
Levulis, S. J., DeLucia, P. R., & Jupe, J. (2015). Effects of oncoming vehicle size on overtaking judgments. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 82, 163–170. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2015.05.024
Llorca, C., Angel-Domenech, A., Agustin-Gomez, F., & Garcia, A. (2017). Motor vehicles overtaking cyclists on two-lane rural roads: Analysis on speed and lateral clearance. Safety Science, 92, 302–310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2015.11.005
Llorca, C., García, A., Moreno, A. T., & Pérez-Zuriaga, A. M. (2013). Influence of age, gender and delay on overtaking dynamics. IET Intelligent Transport Systems, 7(2), 174–181. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-its.2012.0147
Love, S., Truelove, V., Rowland, B., Kannis-Dymand, L., Ross, D., Sullman, M., & Davey, J. (2023). The antecedents, regulation and maintenance of anger on the road: A qualitative investigation on the factors influencing driver anger and aggression. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 93, 118–132. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2023.01.002
Lucas-Alba, A., Melchor, Ó. M., Hernando, A., Fernández-Martín, A., Blanch-Micó, M. T., & Lombas, A. S. (2020). Distressed in the queue? Psychophysiological and behavioral evidence for two alternative car-following techniques. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 74, 418–432. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2020.09.011
Nolan, J., Sinclair, J., & Savage, J. (2021). Are bicycle lanes effective? The relationship between passing distance and road characteristics. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 159, 106184. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2021.106184
OECD. (2009). Moving freight with better trucks. Improving safety, productivity and sustainability. Final report. Prepared by Working Group on Heavy Vehicles, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Philips, I., Anable, J., & Chatterton, T. (2022). E-bikes and their capability to reduce car CO2 emissions. Transport Policy, 116, 11–23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.11.019
Plazier, P., Weitkamp, G., & van den Berg, A. (2023). E-bikes in rural areas: current and potential users in the Netherlands. Transportation, 50(4), 1449–1470. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-022-10283-y
Precht, L., Keinath, A., & Krems, J. F. (2017). Effects of driving anger on driver behavior – Results from naturalistic driving data. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 45, 75–92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2016.10.019
Rasch, A., Boda, C.-N., Thalya, P., Aderum, T., Knauss, A., & Dozza, M. (2020). How do oncoming traffic and cyclist lane position influence cyclist overtaking by drivers? Accident Analysis & Prevention, 142, 105569. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2020.105569
Rérat, P. (2021). The rise of the e-bike: Towards an extension of the practice of cycling? Mobilities, 16(3), 423–439. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2021.1897236
Sandin, J. (2016). Effects of high capacity vehicles on traffic safety in Sweden. HVTT14: 14th International Symposium on Heavy Vehicle Transport Technology.
Sandin, J., Renner, L., & Andersson, J. (2012, July 21). The effect on passenger cars’ meeting margins when overtaking 30 meter trucks on real roads. 4th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics.
Tapani, A. (2005). A Traffic Simulation Modeling Framework for Rural Highways [Licentiate thesis, monograph, Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap].
Vogel, K. (2002). What characterizes a free vehicle in an urban area? Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 5(1), 313–327. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-8478(02)00003-7
Walker, I. (2007). Drivers overtaking bicyclists: Objective data on the effects of riding position, helmet use, vehicle type and apparent gender. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 39(2), 417–425. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2006.08.010
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Katja Kircher, Jesper Sandin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
