In our analyses car drivers checked their blind spot at only 7% of the right turns at intersections (UK: left turn), and at only 5% of the cases when leaving a roundabout. In the Netherlands the blindspot was checked significantly more than in other countries. The blind spot check frequency of Dutch truck drivers is in the same order of magnitude as Dutch car drivers.

Failure to perform appropriate visual checks at intersections may have contributed to the 2069 cyclist fatalities in the European Union in 2015. We investigated whether and when drivers perform visual checks for potentially encroaching cyclists during right-turn manoeuvres. Data was collected from 69 car drivers in France, the Netherlands, Poland, and UK, and from 12 Dutch truck drivers. The car dataset consisted of 961 manoeuvres at intersections (trucks: 159) and 852 manoeuvres at roundabouts (trucks: 209). In the six seconds before the manoeuvre, car drivers checked their blind spot in 4% of the intersections and roundabouts. Including the manoeuvre, this frequency increased to 7% at intersections and 5% at roundabouts. The prevalence of cyclist facilities was highest in the Netherlands, which is also the country where blind spot checks were performed most often (27% at intersections, 19% at roundabouts). Dutch truck drivers checked their blind spot at 19% of the intersections and 27% of the roundabouts. When not checking the blind spot, car and truck drivers mostly looked toward the road they were turning into. Our findings may inform driver training to increase awareness of cyclists at urban intersections and roundabouts.

Manoeuvre Anatomy

Supporting Documents

D44.1 Interaction with Vulnerable Road Users

This deliverable analyses the interactions of pedestrians, cyclists and PTWs with passenger cars and trucks. The aim was to identify and understand the everyday behavioural patterns in these interactions as well as the circumstances of safety critical events (SCE). For cyclists, identified SCEs were caused by a combination of infrastructure (a curve or a too narrow road), manoeuvre (often overtaking), the presence of other traffic, and an error or unexpected behaviour of the cyclist (slowing down). For pedestrians, in around three quarters of SCEs, the driver him/herself had spotted the pedestrian in time. In the remaining situations, a warning system could have been of help. For PTWs, the data did not show that car drivers tend to follow them closer than cars or trucks.

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