Perceptual-psychological analysis of the cycling task

The aim of this project, carried out for the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), was to describe the visual and acoustic perception of the traffic environment experienced by cyclists, which has not yet been adequately investigated. The focus was to highlight typical perception errors and to identify their causes.

In a literature analysis, the previous findings on the visual and acoustic perception mechanisms and perception errors of cyclists were compiled. Subsequently, an analysis of bicycle accidents was conducted to quantify the accidents attributable to perceptual errors and to identify the conditions under which perceptual errors occur, in particular most frequent conditions. In addition, a task analysis was carried out to record how cyclists cope with different driving situations. For this purpose, we investigated in different traffic situations which perceptual, thought and decision processes guide their actions and described the resulting stress. In a concluding expert workshop, measures to increase the safety of cycling were discussed and further research needs were identified. The findings obtained here can help to further improve the safety of cyclists in road traffic.