Video based technique to develop risk ratings for cycle use.

One amongst a number of issues that affect the propensity to cycle is risk to the user. As part of a larger piece of research determining and measuring factors that influence the propensity to use a cycle for the journey to work, a study has been undertaken of the perceptions of risk by potential and actual users of the cycle. The methodology is novel and comprises a presentation to respondents of digital video images of a cycle being ridden in different circumstances. The respondent is asked to describe their journey to work decomposed into sections comprising links and main junctions. Their journey is then re-presented to them built from different combinations of 10 link and 10 junction categories of pre-recorded video clips of situations similar to those they have described. Respondents are asked to rate, on a ten-point scale, their perception of risk from traffic and from threats other than traffic in the journey presented to them on video. Removal and replacement of the original video clips in a structured manner allows for a range of different circumstances to be considered by the respondent. Also, where the risk index is identified to be different from the base scenario, the change in journey time that would be required to return to the original risk rating is requested. The outcomes from the research are quantitative ratings of risk in different circumstances, including for both link and junction types, and a relationship between the risk ratings and the time dimension. The main research will develop the findings to estimate area based risk indices to be used with census data proportions using the bicycle for the journey to work. For the covering abstract see ITRD E124693.