Observations of Driver Behavior during Overtaking of Bicycles on Rural Roads

The interaction between motorized and nonmotorized road users has been an issue of contention for many years. Drivers complain that bicyclist behavior ranges from annoying to dangerous to illegal. Bicyclists complain that driver behavior ranges from annoying to dangerous to illegal. Many studies have observed these interactions on urban roads. However, only anecdotal evidence existed for the interactions on rural roads. When looking at driver and bicyclist behavior, specifically during interactions on rural roads, researchers have not had independent data to review. The study underlying this paper collected real-time interaction data between bicycles and motorized vehicles on rural roads, with Dane County, Wisconsin, as a field laboratory. Researchers collected video and sensor data for 1,151 interactions between bicycles and motorized vehicles. This paper provides initial observations drawn from these interactions. This study found that drivers, in fact, operated in a technically unsafe manner by frequently performing passing maneuvers outside designated areas. This study also found that despite the frequent comment from bicyclists that drivers passed too closely, these actions were actually quite rare and accounted for only 0.5% of all the observed interactions (six of 1,151). Drivers were far more likely to give bicyclists more room than required and risked a centerline violation, even when conditions were not safe to do so. Bicycle lanes (paved shoulders) directly affected the likelihood of a driver committing a moving violation, with violation rates four to six times lower when a paved shoulder was available.