Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
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horizon
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Re: Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

Post by horizon »

Jambate wrote:Hi Guys,

Thanks for all your feedback, and responses! Apologies to anyone that struggled to answer any of the questions - writing surveys is far harder than I had initially imagined!

As it happens, pretty much any answer is useful so don't worry about not quite answering in the way you think a question should be answered.

horizon wrote:Hi Jambate: would you mind saying a little bit more about the epistemology of your study, where the questionnaire and its replies fit into your overall study and your own perceived risks when you cycle. Many thanks, horizon.


Hi Horizon, I am trying to design a product to reduce the perceived risk in cycling, so the purpose of this study is to find out what people find scary. In my own experience, the scariest thing (that isn't actually life threatening) is being overtaken too fast and too close, which is pretty much what people said in their responses. The next stage will be a set of follow up questions to start finding out WHY that is scary. Once I know the why, I can start to design a solution to mitigate against it.


Jambate: thanks for that. What I am trying to find out is what else you are doing to further your work apart from asking questions. Asking questions is usually a good thing but not in the sense that you are doing it.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
JJF
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Re: Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

Post by JJF »

I haven't read all the above posts line by line so I might be repeating a point made by somebody else.

The question about perceived risk whilst cycling has been addressed to readers of these boards ie people who cycle some of the time, whether it's a little or a lot.
There are lots of people who don't cycle at all and many of those I speak to say that it's dangerous. Has the OP asked non cyclists about their perception of danger. In asking only people who read these boards, you are omitting the majority of the population.
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horizon
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Re: Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

Post by horizon »

JJF wrote:There are lots of people who don't cycle at all and many of those I speak to say that it's dangerous.


A good way I have found to address the fear of traffic in those who don't cycle is to casually ask them if they would be interested in an electric bike. The positive enthusiasm that that question normally elicits has now made me question the Oxford English Dictionary definition of "risk" for which I now read "hills". There is also the slight problem of the word "fear" in that many people confuse fear of being hit by a car with fear of falling off.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
mattsccm
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Re: Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

Post by mattsccm »

I am intrigued by the OPs project. And the field of study. It seems that this questionnaire is based on mental issues as its talking about perceptions of risk, both (perceptions and risk) , but especially the first being theoretical, personal and subjective. I am wondering if his field of study is something along the lines of psychology or something. A technique to deal with risk perceptions etc would be most useful in many aspects of life. I, for example, have totally lost my head for heights and mountain scrambles that I used to scamper up with not a care in the world now put the fear of God into me. I would love to have a strategy to stop that.
The OP then mentions designing a product to reduce perceptions of risk. Now that is clever. The only products I can think of tend to be chemical and often drunk or smoked. They make us braver.
I am perplexed as to how the OP thinks that a physical product is going to remove a mental issue. Short of removing motor vehicles from the roads, I doubt anything is going to solve the risk of cycling.
I am not intending to be negative but am genuinely intrigued.
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meic
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Re: Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

Post by meic »

A placebo, a lucky charm, a rabbit's foot (or a plastic hat) can all make people feel safer.
Even seeing a few Police cars occasionally. :wink:
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Cyril Haearn
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Re: Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

Post by Cyril Haearn »

I have become more careful too
When I was 18 I did the Snowdon Horseshoe, Crib Goch, not sure I would dare that now :?
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mattsccm
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Re: Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

Post by mattsccm »

Crib Goch is one I was thinking of. We used to run it, do it in the rain and dark leaving the head torches behind to make it more fun. Covered in ice, balancing on the narrow bit. Even bikes. I'd want a rope now.
If the Op could take me back 30 years it would be great.
atlas_shrugged
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Re: Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

Post by atlas_shrugged »

Big thumbs up to Loughborough who seem to be doing quite a bit of work on investigating cycling safety.

I for one would be very interested in seeing the results of all this work and in helping in any way I can.
Brucey
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Re: Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

Post by Brucey »

we all ride on the roads and when we do we assume that folk driving cars are actually looking where they are going. IMHO this is becoming far less certain; modern cars are basically full of distractions and folk add to these by fooling around with their phones whilst they are meant to be driving. If there is an accident, they just lie about it afterwards.

It is very difficult to assess the real risk arising from this (and as a species we are notoriously bad at this) but there is a risk and having known of several cyclists who have been driven into from behind I think that risk is appreciable.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Cugel
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Re: Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

Post by Cugel »

meic wrote:A placebo, a lucky charm, a rabbit's foot (or a plastic hat) can all make people feel safer.
Even seeing a few Police cars occasionally. :wink:


Indeed!

The OP says he is using the data from his questionnaire to "try and design a product" to make people feel safer. A product for cyclists to buy seems the last thing needed .... unless you count a large number of Z-cars filled with traffic policemen as "products". I for one will pay for them with a tax increase.

I won't be paying for anything gizmoid made of polystyrene and costing me up to £300 for it's no-proof, loadsa-advert claim of providing "safety" - no, not even if it becomes so fashionable that Prince Charles wears one when pheasant-murdering and Wiggo says they're great cos Lance got one (from his sponsor)!

Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes
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Cugel
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Re: Perceived risk whilst cycling ( A Survey )

Post by Cugel »

Brucey wrote:we all ride on the roads and when we do we assume that folk driving cars are actually looking where they are going. IMHO this is becoming far less certain; modern cars are basically full of distractions and folk add to these by fooling around with their phones whilst they are meant to be driving. If there is an accident, they just lie about it afterwards.

It is very difficult to assess the real risk arising from this (and as a species we are notoriously bad at this) but there is a risk and having known of several cyclists who have been driven into from behind I think that risk is appreciable.

cheers


Are you daring to suggest that the manufacturers and purveyors of motorised murdering machines should be prevented from attracting the wallets of the many descendants of Mr Toad with various poop-poop gizmos at which they can fondly stare or jab their batrachoid fingers!? I feel that you may be a Dangerous Revolutionary whose every move must now be tracked by GCHQ in case you be a gizmoid subverter or even an anti-cap of some strange ilk.

In all events, there will soon be a law allowing gizmoid-entranced fools to sit back in full gizmoid immersion, as the mechanised death machines travel about under their own steam (I mean electricity) obeying a program to always sacrifice the cyclist in preference to making the journey 3 seconds slower, as is the perfectly reasonable rule now for the human operatives.

Those calls on the prattle boxes, to tell the wifey "I'm in the car" are very important, you know, especially if she has something to relate about what happened in East Enders just now.

Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes
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