Driver knowledge of cycling-related road rules in Queensland, Australia

Violations of road rules are common in bicycle-motor vehicle crashes, but little is known about how much this results from lack of knowledge of the rules. This article addresses the research questions of how well do drivers know the road rules related to interacting with cyclists, and what factors influence their level of knowledge.

An online survey compared drivers who reported riding bicycles on Queensland roads in the previous 12 months ("cyclists": n = 2,839) and those who did not ("drivers": n = 4,070). A list of 10 plausible road rules (four were not actual rules) relating to interactions between motor vehicles and bicycles was presented, and participants were asked "Which of the following road rules applies in Queensland?" The response options for each item were "Yes," "No," and "I don't know".

The percentages correct varied markedly across the rules, from 86.5% to 38.7% for cyclists and from 72.2% to 20.9% for drivers. Incorrect responses were generally more common than "Don't know" responses (cyclists: 22.3% incorrect, 9.8% "Don't know"; drivers: 29.9% incorrect, 19.6% "Don't know"). The hierarchical regression analysis confirmed that cyclists had better road rule knowledge than drivers. In the cyclist-only model, more frequent riding was significantly associated with better road rule knowledge but explained only 3% of the total variance. Older cyclists and those living in more urbanized areas had better knowledge but age and location of residence together added only 1% to the variance explained. In the driver-only model, knowledge was better for male, older, more educated participants and those living in more urbanized areas but these variables together accounted for only 5% of the variance.

The results of this study suggest that improving knowledge of some current road rules could be beneficial for cycling safety but for some other rules, improved knowledge could be detrimental for cycling safety and changing the rules to reflect shared perceptions of safe behavior may be more beneficial. For each of the rules, further research is needed to examine the links between knowledge and compliance, and the influence of compliance on the risks of bicycle-motor vehicle crashes and near misses.