Promoting objective and subjective safety for cyclists in metropolitan areas

Abstract

Decreasing the number of accidents with cyclists is seen as a major challenge in German politics, accordingly being integrated into the coalition treaty of the German federal government. However, targeting measures to increase the objective safety, such as raising fines for stopping on bike tracks, might not be sufficient to promote cycling in metropolitan areas. Objective as well as subjective safety should be considered when formulating measures to increase cycling safety, as an imbalance between the two can lead to negative consequences. In addition, measures to increase cycling safety can produce converse effects on these two safety aspects. To increase objective and subjective safety in metropolitan areas, an application was developed at HFT Stuttgart (University of Applied Sciences) in the project i_city: intelligent city. This application integrates both objective and subjective data on the safety of cycling with the goal of achieving a balanced and acceptable level between the two aspects. As a short-term measure, a navigation system considering objective and subjective safety is planned to be offered. Its function of visualising unsafe areas for cycling is intended to be used by cyclists when planning their route, as well as by city officials to promote long-term safety measures (such as increasing the number and quality of cycling tracks). Positive effects on the use rate of bicycles are expected as a consequence. This assumption is planned to be tested on the use case of Stuttgart.