The Likelihoods of Bicyclist Steering Patterns in Response to Being Passed by Motorists

This inevitable swing-like straight movement of a two-wheel bicycle may lead to insufficient lateral distances when motorists pass bicyclists, increasing the risk of a collision. More information on bicycle movements is needed to facilitate road sharing. The purpose of the present study was to explore bicyclist steering patterns and factors that characterise the likelihoods of individual steering patterns when bicyclists respond to being passed by motorists. Data collected by an instrumented bicycle cruising in real traffic were used. Logit regression was used to investigate the likelihoods of six steering patterns, defined by the changes in the bicycle wheel angles, as a function of the influencing factors. The results revealed that although the steering stability of a bicyclist can affect steering decisions in response to being passed by motorists, the durations and spatial characteristics of these passing events also play important roles in these decisions.