Study: Cyclists Follow Traffic Laws More Closely Than Motorists
A common misconception among road users, especially in urban centers like San Francisco and Oakland, is that cyclists are negligent in regard to traffic laws – but scientific research is continuously showing that’s not an accurate assumption.
In fact, cyclists tend to follow the rules of the road more closely than their motorist counterparts. Cyclists themselves may know this to be true, especially because ignoring traffic laws can have potentially catastrophic outcomes.
This misconception may also grow from vehicle drivers not knowing the ins and outs of the rules set to protect cyclists, like making a proper turn when a bike lane is present or so-called daylighting measures that aim to increase visibility.
A 2019 study in Florida confirmed what many bicycle riders know to be true: they are not nearly as careless as they are made out to be in regard to following traffic laws. Additional studies around the world support these findings and show why it’s so important to commit to infrastructure that puts barriers between cyclists and traffic.
Drivers vs. cyclists
The Florida Department of Transportation commissioned the study which was conducted by scientists at the University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Transportation Research. Throughout the study, they outfitted 100 bicycles with cameras and sensors. After cyclists spent about 2,000 hours pedaling around the Tampa Bay area, the researchers analyzed how often cars and bicycles committed traffic violations, such as rolling through stop signs, failing to yield, and disregarding other rules.
The results?
Researchers concluded that cyclists followed the law 88% of the time during the day and 87% of the time after dark. In drivers, compliance was slightly less: 85% of the time overall.
The study, however, did not take into consideration speeding or distracted driving – two factors that can significantly put cyclists at risk. Even so, the research puts to rest the common assumption by drivers that cyclists are scofflaws.
“Many drivers simply don’t know the rules that concern people on bikes,” says Cong Chen, one of the study’s researchers who spoke with Outside magazine about the findings. “About how much space to give cyclists, for instance, or when riders should get the right of way.”
Over the course of the study period there was one crash – which was caused by a negligent driver – and 21 “close calls,” all but one of which researchers determined were the result of a driver failing to yield properly while turning.
“Even though the cyclists in close calls were almost always compliant with traffic rules, there still were instances where they could have been more cautious,” says Program Director Pei-Sung Lin, who led the study. “I mean, it’s obviously not foolproof to assume drivers will follow the rules.”
In the same study, cyclists were asked to do a self assessment, which revealed that younger cyclists take more risks and are more likely to be distracted than older cyclists. Women also reported themselves as greater risk takers, despite several studies that have pointed to young men being the most risk friendly.
Science-based safety measures
As a result of the project, Florida researchers did offer recommendations on what could positively affect safety for road users, including wider roads, protected bike lanes, better lighting at night, and “through lanes,” which can alleviate conflicts between cyclists and turning cars. Based on their findings, the researchers say that separating cyclists from cars is a better solution than simply sharing the road.
Other studies support those observations.
A 2019 study commissioned by the Danish government found that around 66% of drivers broke traffic laws, but only 4.9% of cyclists did so when riding on bike paths. That figure jumped to 14% when bike paths were not available.
“The results of the study underscore the major impact that accessible bike paths can have on reducing traffic violations by cyclists, with cyclists riding outside of bike paths being three times more likely to break traffic laws. The researchers found that in smaller cities without well-developed bike paths, the incidents of traffic infringements committed by cyclists were noticeably higher than in cities with developed cycling infrastructure,” writes Bicycling magazine.
Researchers in the U.S. have similarly concluded that separated bike lanes significantly reduce fatalities and make for safer streets. Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and the University of New Mexico analyzed 12 cities, including San Francisco, in 2019, finding that cities with protected and separated bike lanes had 44% fewer deaths than the average city.
Separating cyclists from speeding cars is the main reason why these barriers work so well, the researchers say. “Bike facilities end up slowing cars down, even when a driver hits another driver, it’s less likely to be a fatality because it’s happening at a slower speed,” one of the researchers told StreetsBlog USA.
Many of these findings have been adopted to some degree by the Bay Area’s own urban planners.
A growing number of bike lanes and traffic-calming projects are now central to redevelopment plans across the region in an effort to eliminate traffic-related fatalities and make streets safer for road users of all kinds.