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Oxford and Cambridge bicycle user survey
It's a funny old world. You wait ages for a cycle survey, then two come along at once.
Hot on the heels of our own Members' Survey, early in March we heard about the Oxford and Cambridge bicycle user survey. This brief survey is part of a research project which aims to improve the relations between cyclists and buses - ultimately making the roads safer for cyclists. To encourage responses, there will be a prize draw for five £20 HMV tokens in each city. The deadline for returning surveys is 15 April 2005. You can download the survey, or fill it in online, at: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cyclingsurvey
The survey is being carried out by researchers from Bath University, for the Oxford and Cambridge Cycle/Bus Project, which aims to help bus drivers and cyclists get on better together on the roads by finding out more about both groups' needs. They will also be doing some workshops with bus drivers.
The cycle survey and bus driver workshops will complement existing research:
- A study of road users in Oxford which was carried out by Brookes University found that the top concerns cyclists have with buses are being passed too close, and being tailgated. Bus drivers' top concerns with cyclists are near-misses at junctions, and being undertaken.
- Casualty data from Oxfordshire reveals different patterns for male and female cyclists. Injuries to women cyclists seem to be more likely to involve a collision with a bus. The survey may help explain this and other findings.
- Local, national and international research reveals which types of accidents are most likely to result in serious injuries.
The information will be used to design messages for bus drivers and cyclists. The messages will be tested in Oxford, using Cambridge as a control, to see if bus drivers and cyclists find them useful.
Clare Macrae
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