Expected future increase of the share of cycling traffic in the total traffic volume, changes in vehicle collective, as well as in user groups with more electric bicycles, will continuously promote the increase of requirements for bicycle traffic safety. For this reason, and taking into account various disciplines, the present research project examined suitable safety parameters in bicycle traffic for future representation and evaluation of traffic safety, in addition to the previously commonly used bicycle accident characteristics. For the identification of "new" or additional safety parameters, a structure has been set up in order to differentiate safety parameters during several stages of a bike ride, from departure to destination, or for a potential accident. The results were presented to and discussed with an expert workshop, and in the aftermath, according to discussion, the results were subsequently revised and adapted. By consulting traffic and accident data with cyclist participation from completed (research) projects, the application examples of traffic planning show how "new" safety parameters can be derived for different stages of a bike ride, by combining existing accident characteristics and safety indicators. Due to a lack of uniform understanding of traffic safety by the various disciplines, and to the some-times weak empirical database, no basis for the identification of interdisciplinary safety parameters could be established. For this reason, the results are limited primarily to the field of traffic planning. Hence, for future research, it is recommended to work out a methodology for interdisciplinary assessment of bicycle traffic safety, based on the present results. (Author/publisher)
Abstract