Note on Motorist Behaviors When Overtaking Cyclists

This note documents motorist behaviors when overtaking cyclists. Observers reviewed nearly 2,300 h of video and classified 20,734 vehicle–cyclist interactions on a variety of commonly used bicycle facilities on local streets at nine locations in Minnesota. Descriptive statistics and a multilevel logistic regression model indicate motorist behaviors are more consistent on roadways with facilities that are visible and distinctly marked. When passing cyclists on streets with no facilities, bikeway signs only, or sharrows, drivers are more likely to enter into adjacent lanes than when passing on streets with striped or buffered bike lanes. Regression results indicate no statistically significant differences between motorist behaviors on roadways without any facilities and streets with either sharrows or signs affirming shared use. The results add to evidence that introduction of bike lanes on roadways may reduce behaviors that pose risks.