The difficult coexistence between drivers and cyclists: Who breaks the most traffic rules?

Although the car remains the main means of transport, Europeans also opt for other, more active forms of travel on their daily journeys: 66% usually walk (unchanged compared to 2023), while 21% travel by car. bicycle regularly (one point lower than in 2023). Additionally, 6% use motorized two-wheeled vehicles and 3% prefer a scooter or hoverboard.

As for Spaniards, 77% walk regularly, being the European country with the highest proportion of people who choose this option, well above the Belgians (who occupy the last position with 53%) and the French (the penultimate with 57%). However, only 7% choose the bicycle as a means of transportation, 6% the two-wheeled motorized vehicle and 2% a scooter or hoverboard.

With these premises, the VINCI Autoroutes Foundation has published the European results of the fourth edition of its “Sharing the Road” study. A survey carried out by Ipsos among 12,413 European citizens that analyzes their behavior when different means of transport coexist on public roads.

The results confirm the need for all users to increase awareness and respect for traffic rules to guarantee coexistence.

Thus, a large majority (92%; 90%) fear the risky behavior of others. Pedestrians are also greatly affected by the risks assumed by other users. Thus, 89% fear that car drivers do not stop at pedestrian crossings (93%), and 63% claim to have suffered friction on the sidewalk, from a bicycle, a scooter or a hoverboard (66%).

The fear of users’ aggressiveness behind the wheel has also spread considerably. Specifically, 81% are afraid of the suddenness with which users of two-wheeled motorized vehicles drive (78%), 83% of car drivers (88%) and 80% of the way they move. of cyclists (83%).

However, the feeling of safety on a bicycle varies considerably by country. While 93% of the Dutch feel safe, only 59% of the French have the same impression when pedaling, the lowest figure of the 11 countries surveyed, with a difference of 34 points compared to the first.

Knowing how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes to understand their limitations and vulnerabilities is one of the benefits of using various modes of transportation. 60% of European drivers (38%) use at least one means of transport other than walking – motorized two-wheeled vehicle, bicycle, scooter, etc. – (85% of the Dutch and 35% of the British).

However, 78% of these “multi-users” claim to be more careful with others on the road: checking blind spots, respecting segregated bike lanes and spaces reserved for people with disabilities, being vigilant when opening the door, etc. . (83%).

Among car drivers who regularly use bicycles, 32% believe that they respect signs better than when driving (50%) and 62% consider that a bicycle trip requires them to be more careful than by car (77%). %).

Traffic rules are not respected or are ignored

Several of the rules of the highway code, whose purpose is to contribute to a balanced distribution of public roads, are not known, understood and applied by all users, a situation that can generate tensions and that is aggravated in the case of the rules relating to cyclists. These are some of the conclusions

They are reserved exclusively for cyclists, allowing them to position themselves in front of vehicles at an intersection regulated by traffic lights, so that they can see better and be seen. However, 64% of motorized two-wheeler drivers (72%) and 24% of car drivers (21%) admit to encroaching on these spaces when stopping their vehicle.

These signs allow cyclists to proceed in certain directions without stopping, even if the traffic light is red, as long as they give way to pedestrians and other vehicles. Given the lack of knowledge of these signs, compliance by cyclists may be perceived by other users as an infraction and risky behavior. However, in the absence of these signs, cyclists should not jump the red light, but 37% of them admit to moving in illegal situations (54%).

They are spaces reserved for pedestrians, however, drivers of motorized two-wheeled vehicles and cyclists tend to park there (66% of drivers of motorized two-wheeled vehicles; 77%) or circulate there (72%). % of regular cyclists; 75%; and 46% of motorized two-wheeled vehicle drivers; This abusive occupation of space poses a danger to pedestrians, of whom 63% claim to have been brushed by a bicycle, scooter or hoverboard while walking on a sidewalk (66%).

Although they are practices perceived as harmless, parking in traffic lanes or occupying spaces reserved for specific users hinders mobility and endangers vulnerable users. Thus, 29% of car drivers admit to regularly parking in double rows (54%), 19% use the bus lane (19%), 12% use spaces reserved for people with disabilities (14%) and 13 % occupy spaces dedicated to electric vehicles (11%).

Like conventional bike lanes, these are reserved for bicycles and personal mobility vehicles (PMVs), but drivers abuse them. Despite this, 50% of drivers of motorized two-wheeled vehicles acknowledge taking advantage of them (49%) and 15% of car drivers acknowledge using them to stop or park (13%). Added to this is that 34% of car drivers admit to opening the door without checking if there are cyclists nearby (28%).

For both vehicles and pedestrians, running a red light can have terrible results for the offender and other road users. However, this violation is widely recognized by drivers, cyclists and even pedestrians, many of whom ignore the risk of crossing when the traffic light prohibits them from passing.

Furthermore, 64% of car drivers admit to having driven through a yellow or red light (65%); 37% of regular cyclists admit to doing so also in situations where signs do not allow them to do so (54%); and 56% of pedestrians admit to having crossed at a pedestrian crossing, even if the traffic light is red (71%) and 78% admit to occasionally crossing where there is no pedestrian crossing, even if they have one less than 50 meters away. meters (81%).

Smartphones and turn signals

The use of phones and smartphones while driving, on the handlebars or on foot: despite being a main source of distraction, 77% of car drivers (67%), including to program the GPS (58% of pedestrians (64 %), 49% of motorcyclists (46%) and 35% of regular cyclists (43%) admit to using their devices on the road).

Only half of drivers activate their turn signal (52%; 48%) to inform other users of overtaking and to change direction, an indication of individualism and indifference towards other road users.

Drivers of heavy vehicles (trucks, buses, coaches) and cyclists are especially at risk when they miscalculate blind spots. However, 49% (42%) of cyclists say they overtake buses or trucks on the right, although they believe they pay attention to blind spots.

The absence or insufficiency of lighting devices and reflective equipment for cycling at night puts cyclists themselves at risk and can surprise other road users. However, this essential safety measure continues to be ignored by 27% of regular cyclists (34%).

The use of a bicycle helmet for adults is not mandatory in any of the countries covered by the survey, except in Spain, where it is recommended in urban areas and is mandatory outside of them. On average in Europe, 29% of regular cyclists use it frequently (52%). This figure is lower than that of British (54%), Spanish (52%) and French (51%) cyclists, but significantly higher than that of the Dutch (7%), who despite being the ones who travel the most on bicycles, they are the ones who use protection the least.