Cycling and sounds: the impact of the use of electronic devices on cycling safety (original) (raw)
Related papers
Transport Reviews, 2015
The growing popularity of electric devices and the increasing number of hybrid and electric cars have recently raised concerns about the use of auditory signals by vulnerable road users. This paper consolidates current knowledge about the two trends in relation to cycling safety. Both a literature review and a crash data analysis were carried out. Based on a proposed conceptual model, knowledge gaps are identified that need to be addressed for a better understanding of the relation between limitations on auditory information while cycling. Results suggest that the concerns regarding the use of electronic devices while cycling and the advent of hybrid and electric vehicles are justified. Listening to music and conversing on the phone negatively influence cyclists' auditory perception, selfreported crash risk and cycling performance. With regard to electric cars, a recurring problem is their quietness at low speeds. Implications of these findings in terms of cycling safety are discussed. Search terms "cycling", "cyclist(s)", "cycling safety" or "pedestrian(s)", "pedestrian safety" were included in all searches and combined with "music", "mobile/cell phone(s)", "distraction" or "media devices".
Effects of listening to music, and of using a handheld and handsfree telephone on cycling behaviour
Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2011
The effects of listening to music on cycling behaviour were evaluated. Twenty-five participants completed a track on a bicycle while listening to music with two standard earbuds, with one earbud, and with two in-ear buds. Conditions with high tempo music and loud volume were also included in the experiment, as were two mobile phone conditions, one in which participants operated the phone hand held and one handsfree condition. Cycle speed was not affected by listening to music, but was reduced in the telephone conditions. In general the response to auditory signals worsened when participants listened to music, in particular when listening with in-earbuds loud auditory stop signals were missed in 68% of the cases. However, when listening with only one standard earbud performance was not affected. In the conditions when participants listened to high volume and to high tempo music, the auditory stop signal was also heard in significantly fewer cases. Completing a task on the mobile phone, using both handheld and handsfree sets, resulted in increased response time to an auditory stop signal and also reduced overall auditory perception. Furthermore, handsfree operation only had minor advantages opposed to hand held operation, with only response time to an auditory stop signal resulting in faster performance. This is likely to be related to the fact that both hands could be used for braking. It is concluded that listening to music worsens auditory perception, in particular if in-ear buds are used. Furthermore, both handheld and handsfree operation of mobile phones has a negative effect on perception, potentially forming a threat to cyclist traffic safety.
Mobile phone use while cycling: Incidence and effects on behaviour and safety
2010
The effects of mobile phone use on cycling behaviour were studied. In Study 1 the prevalence of mobile phone use while cycling was assessed. In Groningen 2.2 % of cyclists were observed talking on their phone and 0.6 % were text messaging or entering a phone number. In Study 2 accident involved cyclists responded to a questionnaire. Only 0.5 % stated that they were operating their phone at the time of the accident. In Study 3 participants operated a phone while cycling. The content of conversation was manipulated, and participants also had to enter a text message. Data were compared with just cycling and cycling while listening to music. Telephoning coincided with reduced speed, reduced peripheral vision performance, and increased risk and mental effort ratings. Text messaging had the largest negative impact on cycling performance. Higher mental workload and lower speed may account for the relatively low number of people calling involved in accidents.
Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2016
When driven at low speeds, cars operating in electric mode have been found to be quieter than conventional cars. As a result, the auditory cues which pedestrians and cyclists use to assess the presence, proximity and location oncoming traffic may be reduced, posing a safety hazard. This laboratory study examined auditory localisation of conventional and electric cars including vehicle motion paths relevant for cycling activity. Participants (N = 65) in three age groups (16-18, 30-40 and 65-70 year old) indicated the location and movement direction (approaching versus receding) of cars driven at 15, 30 and 50 km/h in two ambient sound conditions (low and moderate). Results show that low speeds, higher ambient sound level and older age were associated with worse performance on the location and motion direction tasks. In addition, participants were less accurate at determining the location of electric and conventional car sounds emanating from directly behind the participant. Implications for cycling safety and proposals for adding extra artificial noise or warning sounds to quiet (electric) cars are discussed.
Urban Traffic Safety While Listening to Music – Views of Listeners and Non - Listeners
The health and safety of the population is an important topic which requires adapting measures to the development of new technologies and their use. One aim of this doctoral research was to investigate mobile music listening in relation to health and safety. Using interviews and shadowing, the opinions and behaviours of mobile-music listeners have been studied, while a second study asked non-users of portable listening devices about their views. Results show that mobile music listeners are aware of the negative effect music listening over headphones in public could have on them, namely the danger of missing signals from their environment. All interviewees have strategies to deal with this issue in different ways. Non-listeners are conscious of risks, too, since one of their main concerns is the inability of listeners to notice auditory stimuli and react appropriately and quickly in traffic.
Street Noise Relationship to Bicycling Road User Safety
2018
Vulnerable road users, such as bicyclists, experience road noise directly. This study explored the relationship between bicycle crash risk and street-level road noise as measured in Austin, Texas and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, in addition to other factors. Construction and validation of a method to measure noise directly using consumer-accessible tools supports additional studies as well as potential public crowdsourcing applications for urban planning. Results from the two case sites were mixed. Street noise, as measured on our chosen routes, was not a consistent predictor of bicycle crash risk. However, our model explained over 87% of the variation in crash risk in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area route, considering infrastructure, nearby bicycle commute mode share, and street noise. Findings from the two routes using our modeling approaches are not exhaustive, but rather an initial exploration of these relationships to support further work on the role of street noise in planning for safety.
2019
In Europe cyclists suffer a disproportionate share of serious injuries and fatalities, and in recent years that disadvantage has been growing. To minimise accidents, different types of collision warning systems have been proposed for motor vehicle drivers. Few studies are available on on-bike systems. The H2020 EU-project XCYCLE developed systems aimed at improving active and passive detection of cyclists informing both drivers and cyclists of hazards at junctions. In the present study, preferences for four different on-bike systems were investigated: 1) passive system without warning; 2) active system with audio-visual warning; 3) active system with handlebar vibration warning; 4) active system with both audio-visual and vibration warning. A sample of 2381 European cyclists from six countries (Italy, Spain, Hungary, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom) answered the online questionnaire. The passive system was the most preferred among the respondents (67.8% would use). Cyclists aged...
IRJET-Effect of Music and Noise on Human Driving and Accident: A Systematic Review
IRJET, 2020
Traffic accidents have developed significant problem for governments, researchers and vehicle industrialists over the last few years. However, accidents are unlucky and repeatedly happen on the road and cause death, damage to infrastructure, and health injuries. Some studies have designated that noise exposure may not disturb simple attention. Despite music's distinct change from noise it too affects human performance negatively and positively. The aim of this research is to analysis the literature to grow an accepting of the effects of noise and music on human performance. The second perseverance was to study the effects of music even though driving. Background noise not only disturbs public health, but it also negatively disturbs human performance. Different features of sound (i.e. volume, type, and tempo) impact human performance differently. It is still unknown which aspect (music or noise) affects task show to a better degree.
Distraction of cyclists: how does it influence their risky behaviors and traffic crashes?
PeerJ, 2018
Background. Undisputedly, traffic crashes constitute a public health concern whose impact and importance have been increasing during the past few decades. Specifically, road safety data have systematically shown how cyclists are highly vulnerable to suffering traffic crashes and severe injuries derived from them. Furthermore, although the empirical evidence is still very limited in this regard, in addition to other human factors involved in cycling crashes, distractions while cycling appear to be a major contributor to the road risk of cyclists. Objectives. The main objectives of this study were, first, to explore the prevalence and trends of cycling distractions within an international sample of bike users, and second, to determine the influence of such distractions on road crashes suffered by cyclists, simultaneously considering the explanatory role of risky behaviors (errors and traffic violations) as potentially mediating variables between cycling distractions and traffic crashes. Methods. For this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the data obtained from 1,064 cyclists—61.2% male and 38.8% female—from 20 different countries, who answered an on-line questionnaire on cycling-related features, habits, behaviors and accidents. Results. The prevalence of different cycling distractions oscillated between 34.7% and 83.6%. The most common distractions were those related to the behavior of other users, physical elements of the road, weather conditions and phone calls. Age trends and differences were also found, thus establishing a positive association between age and distractibility during cycling. Furthermore, the effect of distractions on traffic crashes of cyclists was significant when tested together with age, risk perception and risky behaviors on the road. Conclusion. The results of this study support the hypotheses that distractions have a major prevalence among bike users, and that they play a significant role in the prediction of the traffic crash rates of cyclists, through the mediation of risky behaviors.