Disobeying traffic rules:
irresponsibility or consequence?
Vratislav FILLER
Auto*Mat
VOCA meeting,
Vienna, 29.3.-3.4.2012
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (0)
Good news first: Kapitána Jaroše crossing
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (0)
Good news first: Kapitána Jaroše crossing
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (1)
Outline
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Status quo of disobeying in Czech Republic
Space for disobeying in various traffic modes
Sources of disobeying: Legislation, personal point of view,
infrastructure
Does „lawful“ mean „impractical“?
Effects on level of cycling transportation
Effects on public perception of cycling
Practical point of view: comprehensive bending of rules
Reducing space for disobeying
Opportunities and risks for campaigners
One final question :-)
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (2)
Status quo in Prague - 1
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Riding on interrupted cyclepaths and crosswalks,
running red lights when crossing minor streets
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (3)
Status quo in Prague - 2
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Sidewalks commonly used as cycle path (not legal in CZ)
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (4)
Status quo in Prague - 3
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Using tram lanes when zero space on right
Photo: Václav Kříž
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (5)
Status quo in Prague - 4
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Using counterflow oneways (with some querilla legalization :-) )
Photo: Václav Kříž
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (6)
Status quo in Prague - 5
Admitted disobeying of rules
Survey among 412 cyclists, Prague 2010
100%
88%
80%
61%
60%
46%
37%
24%
Riding along parked cars
Crossing of busy road
Interrupted bike lanes
Overtaking queue
The survey was carried out by Vratislav Filler in
project of NGO Oživení, „Jak odstranit klíčové
bariéry cyklodopravy v Praze“ in 2010
Oneway against flow
Safe crosswalk
Riding in traffic jam
Dangerous crosswalk
Turning left from 2nd.+ lane
5%
Crossing with pictocoridor
0%
17%
21%
27%
18%
Crossing with traffic lights
40%
20%
66%
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (7)
Status quo in Prague - 6
More numbers
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Crosswalk „Agip“:
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2 of ~700 cyclists dismounted (Pr.T. 2007)
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Kapitána Jaroše:
40% run red to avoid dangerous
waiting
(Oživení, 2010).
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•
Mánes:
only 3 of 50 cyclists pass legally;
waiting for green takes 60-80 sec (Survey
Pr.T. 16.4.2011.)
Photos (from up to down): Václav Kříž, Tomáš Cach, Tomáš Prousek
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (8)
Space for disobeying
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Different opportunities for cars, pedestrians and cyclists
There is not too many ways, how to break
rules in car here.
(photo Cycling Commitee of Prague)
What else to do than to disobey?
(Yes, You may dismount,
but that is not the purpose why the
bicycle was made for.)
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (9)
Effects of disobeying - cars
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Car speeding proven at least
as dangerous as alcohol
Especially threating unprotected
participants of traffic
Illegal car parking creates bareer
mostly for other participants of traffic
Source of plots: Advancing Sustainable Safety,
SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research, 2006.
Both plots are based on scientific studies.
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (10)
Effects of disobeying - bicycles
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Ride against one-way flow is mostly safe
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Crosswalk interrupting cyclepath has
no negative safety effect in CZ.
–
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– Only 3 serious accidents in Vienna
since 1980 (where legal, source: Ing. Blaha)
– In CZ, cyclists generally do not
have right of way on bicycle crossing.
Ride on sidewalks has effect
depending on frequency
of pedestrians and cyclists.
problematic
Possible
Source of plot: Gute Lösungen in und für Wien, 2012
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Effects of disobeying - summary
Very different effects of common disobeying for particular groups:
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For cars, usual effect is threat for others.
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For bicycles, there is mostly no effect on safety
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except threat to pedestrians.
As much as possible „harmless“ offences should be legal.
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (12)
Sources of disobeying (1 - external)
Sources: Internal (cyclist, vehicle) x external (infrastructure, rules)
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Non-bicycle infrastructure
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–
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– why to dismount?
– pointless slowings down
Not natural infrastructure
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– pointless waiting on lights
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– pointless detours
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– mandatory worse routes
Remark: well known reasons for poor infrastructure are
wrong norms and outdated preferences of decisive executives.
Rules not for bicycles
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– prohibited safe behaviour (e.g. taking lane)
– prohibited natural behaviour (two cyclists abreast)
– car favouring rules (right of way, mandatory infrastructure...)
Image:
Cach,
Syrový,
Prousek
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (13)
Sources of disobeying (2 - internal)
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Lack of knowledge
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Personal
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–
–
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– Sidewalks, crosswalks and counterflow streets considered to be legal
– Ruthlessness towards pedestrians.
– Haste (red lights, risky maneuver)
– Alcohol
– Yes, and there is still space for some unintended mistakes...
Vehicle / equipment
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– Helmets , reflectors, lights...
– Analogica offenses exist for drivers too.
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Sources of disobeying (3 - summary)
Transport
mode
Violation
External sources
Internal sources
Car
Speeding
Speed inducing infrastructure
Haste, habit
Illegal parking
Street design allowing it
Excessive car use
Sidewalks
Missing or dangerous
infrastructure
Scared by traffic, considering it legal
Crosswalks
Poor infrastructure, bad
legislation
-
One-way
counterflow
Bad legislation, ignorance
of decision makers
Considering it legal
Bicycle
Pedestrians
Running red lights Car oriented light setting
Haste (rarely)
Crossing outside
crosswalks
Missing/badly located
crosswalks
Laziness (rarely)
Red lights
Car oriented light setting
Haste, running public
transport
It seems that for drivers prevail internal sources, whereas for cyclists and
pedestrians external. Many breaches are „enforced by infrastructure.“
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (15)
Does „lawful“ mean „impractical“?
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„Yes – but how much?“
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Time losses and uphills decrease willingness to ride:
Willingness to ride by time convenience
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Willingness to climb on daily route
100%
80%
Extrapolated part
60%
40%
20%
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
Difference in time to basic mean of transport (minuts)
all
regular
occasional
When bicycle is slower than public transport,
then every minute lost on traffic light decreases
willingness to cycle by 5%.
Plots from survey of 412 Prague cyclists, by project of Oživení,
„Jak odstranit klíčové bariéry cyklodopravy v Praze“, 2010.
0%
0
all
50
regular
100
occassional
150
200
250
climb (m)
Stopping and starting to 20 km/h equals 1.6 m
climb. Assume cyclepath in urban area with
obligation to stop (or slow) on every crossing
(200m span). It creates additional 80 m uphill
on 10 km route, decreasing willingness by 40%.
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Prone to disobey?
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Does illegal ride discourage people?
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– „Keep rules even if wrong“ → lost for everyday cycling.
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– Centre of Prague: 80% adult men among cyclisnts (counting 2010)
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– Mixed with safety issues (perceived as biggest barrier in Prague –
survey 2010).
Do more people cycle who are prone to disobey?
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– First riders („pioneers“):
• → high experience
• → good risk assessment
• → good knowledge of principles
• → lower care about keeping official rules
– Newbies („followers“):
• → May not understand principles
• → May disobey needlessly
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (17)
Bad image of cycling
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Status Quo changes when cycling rises rapidly
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– Level of acceptable sidewalk cycling is limited → strong negative
effect!
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– On roads, effect of „safety in numbers“ is rather positive.
Dangerous image of reckless cyclists:
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– 5% of reckless creates image of all
– Complaints even from regular cyclists
– Complaints from citizens
→ turns politicans
against bicycle transport
Connection with poor infrastructure and evil rules is not comprehensive
for people who do not cycle.
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– Comparison with pedestrians fails, as they are rarely a threat
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– „It's like if a highway changes into a rural road“
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– „It's like if you're obliged to push the car“
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (18)
Practical point of view
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„Light lane“? We do it without lasers!
Creating new rules on the fly:
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– Changing roles („car“, „pedestrian“,
„not being there“)
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– Creating virtual infrastructure (bike
lanes, boxes, counterflow
signs, green signals, etc.)
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To suppress danger we need to be:
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– comprehensive for everybody.
To suppres negative image of cycling, we need also to be:
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– acceptable for everybody!
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– Desired image: „Well, OK, he/she did something clearly illegal, but
what else I would do on his/her place...“
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– Excludes aggressive techniques of invisible or „non-existent“ cyclist.
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (19)
Reducing space for disobeying
Principles:
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Natural infrastructure.
Requires standards of
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– actual safety
(widths, radiuses, clearances...)
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– perceived safety
(traffic to merge, speed...)
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– social safety
(light, wide underpasses...)
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– practical atractivity
(directness, quickness, no double hills...)
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Considerable laws and technical norms
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Change way of thiking of traffic decision makers
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Education to be carefull and considerate.
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Education to understand each other.
Many of these principles are not achievable by campaigning organizations,
but we need to keep them on mind.
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (20)
Opportunities for campaigners
„Safety in numbers“:
+ in traffic
– on sidewalks
What to do when cycling rises?
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Special focus on behaviour towards pedestrians
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Collaboration with officials
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– Include among main messages about cycling transport
– big city PR / information campaign to improve mutual
understanding
– find most effective measurements how to get newbie cyclists on the
road without discouraging them.
– cooperation with police to find sensible way to manage rising
amounts of „sidewalk cyclists“
Find own mechanisms how to suppress rude behaviour of cyclists
toward pedestrians.
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– work with community?
– shoot them? ;-)
Disobeying traffic rules: irresponsibility or consequence? (21)
Neverending question: Integrated or segregated?
Should we prefer integrated infrastructure, even if too poor?
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Integrated infrastructure in „Wild-esatern style“
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– Distractive for beginners
– Unusable for weak cyclists
and children
What is then a „lowest quality tolerable“?
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– Example: Kpt. Jaroše crossing – to be praised, but...
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How to make this topic interesting for politicians?
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How to catch non-cycling majority positively?
Thank you for your attention