Factors impacting bicyclist lateral position and velocity in proximity to commercial vehicle loading zones: Application of a bicycling simulator

Masoud Ghodrat Abadi; David S Hurwitz; Manali Sheth; Edward McCormack; Anne Goodchild

doi:10.1016/j.aap.2019.01.024

Factors impacting bicyclist lateral position and velocity in proximity to commercial vehicle loading zones: Application of a bicycling simulator

Accid Anal Prev. 2019 Apr:125:29-39. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2019.01.024. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Authors

Masoud Ghodrat Abadi¹, David S Hurwitz², Manali Sheth³, Edward McCormack⁴, Anne Goodchild⁵

Affiliations

¹ Masoud Ghodrat Abadi, Graduate Research Assistant, School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University, 1491 SW Campus Way, 101 Kearney Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA. Electronic address: ghodratm@oregonstate.edu.
² Masoud Ghodrat Abadi, Graduate Research Assistant, School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Oregon State University, 1491 SW Campus Way, 101 Kearney Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA. Electronic address: david.hurwitz@oregonstate.edu.
³ Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, 3760 E. Stevens Way NE, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: manalijs@uw.edu.
⁴ Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, 3760 E. Stevens Way NE, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: edm@uw.edu.
⁵ Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, 3760 E. Stevens Way NE, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: annegood@uw.edu.

PMID: 30708261
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2019.01.024

Abstract

There is little research on the behavioral interaction between bicycle lanes and commercial vehicle loading zones (CVLZ) in the United States. These interactions are important to understand, to preempt increasing conflicts between truckers and bicyclists. In this study, a bicycling simulator experiment examined bicycle and truck interactions. The experiment was successfully completed by 48 participants. The bicycling simulator collected data regarding a participant's velocity and lateral position. Three independent variables reflecting common engineering approaches were included in this experiment: pavement marking (L1: white lane markings with no supplemental pavement color, termed white lane markings, L2: white lane markings with solid green pavement applied on the conflict area, termed solid green, and L3: white lane markings with dashed green pavement applied on the conflict area, termed dashed green), signage (L1: No sign and L2: a truck warning sign), and truck maneuver (L1: no truck in CVLZ, L2: truck parked in CVLZ, and L3: truck pulling out of CVLZ). The results showed that truck presence does have an effect on bicyclist's performance, and this effect varies based on the engineering and design treatments employed. Of the three independent variables, truck maneuvering had the greatest impact by decreasing mean bicyclist velocity and increasing mean lateral position. It was also observed that when a truck was present in a CVLZ, bicyclists had a lower velocity and lower divergence from right-edge of bike lane on solid green pavement, and a higher divergence from the right-edge of bike lane was observed when a warning sign was present.

Keywords: Bicycle safety; Bicycle-truck conflicts; Bicycling simulator; Commercial vehicle loading zone.

MeSH terms

Accidents, Traffic* / prevention & control
Adult
Bicycling*
Communication*
Engineering
Environment Design*
Female
Humans
Male
Motor Vehicles*
Risk-Taking*
Safety
Young Adult