A discussion has been going on for some years in groningen between the provincial department of public works and a number of municipalities concerning the question as to whether moped riders should be allowed on the carriageway or not. In practice, this has resulted in it being possible that, in identical traffic situations, moped riders sometimes have to use the carriageway and sometimes have to ride on the bicycle path. In order to gain more insight into the safety aspects of allowing moped riders on the carriageway or not, the behaviour of moped riders has been observed at six locations in the province of groningen. In choosing the location, a distinction was made between locations where moped riders have to ride on the carriageway (optional bicycle path) and locations where they have to ride on the bicycle path (compulsory bicycle path). The emphasis during the research was on the nature and the extent of eventual conflicts between moped riders and other traffic participants and their reactions and behaviour at intersections when moped riders did or did not use the carriageway. In total, 624 moped riders were observed, 247 in the presence of other traffic. Neither in the situations where moped riders were allowed on the carriageway nor where use of the bicycle path was compulsary were abrupt manoeuvres on the part of moped riders or conflicts between them and other traffic observed. In the majority of the locations studied the behaviour of moped riders often proved to differ considerably from what it should have been according to traffic rules and signs. A recommendation is made that, by means of observation and subsequent interviewing of traffic participants, further research be carried out into moped riders' motivation with regard to their traffic behaviour. (Author/publisher)
Abstract