Traffic safety related attitudes and behaviors among bicycle and electric bicycle riders: a comparison study

  Objective  To compare attitudes and behaviors about non-motorized vehicle traffic safety between bicycle and electric bicycle riders.

  Methods  We conducted a household survey among 1 244 adult non-motorized vehicle riders in October 2016. The participants of the survey were recruited with probability proportional to size sampling from 11 towns in 7 non-central regions of Shanghai city selected with stratified random sampling. We complied a questionnaire to collect the participants′ information on demography, status and risk behaviors of non-motorized vehicle driving in traffic and transportation. In addition, we assessed the severity of 6 risk behaviors in non-motorized vehicle driving among the participants.

  Results  Of all the participants, 878 (71.8%) were electric bicycle/power assisted bicycle riders (reporting electric bicycle/power assisted bicycle driving in traffic or transportation) and 345 (28.2%) were bicycle riders. Of the electric bicycle/power assisted bicycle riders and bicycle riders, 94.4% and 93.2% considered " running the red light” as a high risk behavior in traffic, while only 56.1% and 64.9% considered " not wearing reflective tapes while riding at night” as a high risk behavior. Compared to the bicycle riders, the riders of power assisted bicycle showed a significantly lower cognition on traffic safety related risk behaviors, especially on not wearing reflective tapes while riding at night, not wearing helmet while riding, and installing umbrella on power assisted bicycle (all P < 0.05). The most frequently self-reported traffic safety related risk behaviors during previous one month was not wearing helmet while driving non-motorized vehicle (reported by 74.4% of the bicycle riders and 43.6% of the electric bicycle/power assisted bicycle riders). The power assisted bicycle riders reported significantly higher ratios of traffic safety related risk behaviors (38.2% for riding on motorways and 23.9% for running the red light, both P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  Non-motorized vehicle riders had a very limited cognition on non-motorized vehicle traffic safety related risk behaviors and were with a considerable ratio of self-reported risk behaviors. There are differences in attitudes and behaviors about non-motorized vehicle traffic safety between electric bicycle/power assisted bicycle riders and bicycle riders. The results suggest that targeted interventions on non-motorized vehicle traffic safety should be conducted among the people.