This report focuses on the behaviour of cyclists in response to infrastructural characteristics and the ensuing encounters between road users. The report describes the results of an evaluation of safety aspects with respect to two cycling routes, one in Oud-Beijerland and the other in Eindhoven. The evaluation emphasised the relationship between intended behaviour and actual behaviour observed. In order to study this relationship, a methodology was designed specifically for this purpose, and introduced for the first time during this study. The results illustrate that discrepancies are often found between actually demonstrated and intended behaviour. The nature and scope of these discrepancies differ markedly from one location to another, and also depend on particular characteristics of the infrastructure, for example: (1) presence or absence of certain engineering measures for cyclists; (2) presence of certain traffic control installations; (3) relative intensities of mopeds, cycles and motor vehicles; and (4) measured speeds. How the infrastructure available is used determines to a great extent whether the potential safety offered by a measure is indeed expressed in practice. (A)
Abstract