The relationship of bicycle use and aggressive driving behaviour: a latent variable model approach

Abstract

Aggressive driving behaviour has been related to the occurrence of risky situations and crashes. The current paper focuses on investigating individual characteristics as determinants of aggressive driving behaviour, with a specific focus on bicycle use. The analysis is based on a questionnaire survey conducted in a number of parking sites in the city centre of Thessaloniki, Greece. Aggressive driving was approximated as a latent variable with reported lane-changing behaviour, use of emergency lane on motorways and maximum speed in urban areas as its indicators. Sociodemographic characteristics and bicycle use were used as explanatory variables. The results showed that increase of aggressiveness had a positive relation to all indicators. Female respondents and older drivers were less likely to report aggressive behaviour. Also, bicycle users were less likely to be aggressive drivers compared to car drivers only. This finding shows that cycling could reduce aggressive behaviour and improve road safety.