Effects of crowding on route preferences and perceived safety of urban cyclists in the Netherlands

Bicycle use increases in many cities around the world. In the Netherlands, cycling is one of the main transport modes in cities and bicycle use is still growing. This leads to crowded cycling infrastructure in cities with high cycling shares, including in the four largest Dutch cities. Since few studies have been done to the effects of high crowding levels on cyclists’ route preferences and perceived safety, the present study aims to examine this for Dutch urban cyclists. Moreover, the relationship between perceived safety and route preferences is established. To investigate this, a questionnaire, including a route choice experiment, is completed by 1,329 cyclists from the four largest Dutch cities. The effects of varying crowding levels on route preferences and perceived safety are analysed with Mixed Logit models. Logistic regression is used to investigate the consistency between route preferences and perceived safety. The results show that crowding negatively affects route preferences as well as perceived safety, and that the impact is stronger for older cyclists and women. Furthermore, high crowding levels have a negative impact on the preference for and perception of safety of cycling infrastructure. Moreover, it is shown that all investigated route attributes have a significant effect on perceived safety, implying a more direct relationship between perceived safety and route preferences. In addition, the results show that most cyclists prefer routes they also perceive as safe. Concludingly, crowding seems an important issue for cyclists in large Dutch cities. Moreover, the perception of safety is likely to increase with the implementation of cycling infrastructure suitable for large flows of cyclists, leading to a safer cycling network for all types of cyclists

Bicycle crashes due to parking spaces along distributor roads:Analysis of the risk of crashes with motor vehicles near intersections with access roads

Dit onderzoek is gericht op de ontwikkeling van kennis over veiligheidsaspecten van fiets- en parkeervoorzieningen langs gebiedsontsluitingswegen (GOW, limiet 50 km/uur) nabij kruispunten met erftoegangswegen (ETW, 30 km/uur of lager) binnen de bebouwde kom.Het onderzoek bouwt voort op een SWOV-onderzoek naar verschillen in veiligheid tussen verschillende typen fietsvoorzieningen op gebiedsontsluitingswegen binnen de bebouwde kom.1 Naast de bevinding dat fietspaden veiliger zijn dan fietsstroken, bleek uit die studie dat de aanwezigheid van parkeervoorzieningen langs de GOW samengaat met een twee maal zo hoog fietsongevallenrisico, óók op wegen met fietspaden. Het is niet bekend welk deel van die fietsongevallen op kruispunten plaatsvond, maar naar verwachting geldt voor wegen met een vrijliggend fietspad het verhoogde risico door parkeren vooral nabij kruispunten; op de wegvakken zijn de fietsers immers gescheiden van het autoverkeer.Een mogelijke oorzaak van het verhoogde risico bij kruispunten is de belemmering van het zicht van automobilisten op het fietspad door geparkeerde voertuigen. In dat geval zal het voornamelijk gaan om conflicten tussen rechts afslaande motorvoertuigen waarbij het pad van rechtdoor gaande fietsers op het fietspad wordt gekruist.In dit onderzoek is daarom gekeken naar risico’s van fiets-motorvoertuigongevallen op GOW-ETW-kruispunten en het effect van parkeervakken langs de GOW’s

Safe cycling routes:Road safety indicators for cycling routes

To ensure that the cycling network remains safe after an increase in cycling, a well-developed, safe cycling network is needed. Studies investigating safe cycling often focus on design choices at road level, whereas route and network levels are also relevant. This study deals with cycling safety at route level. Firstly, it aims to define indicators to compare the safety levels of different routes between each origin-destination (OD) pair. Secondly, it aims to discuss how these indicators can be applied by road authorities in order to assess and improve the safety of cycling routes. Finally, it also aims to discuss the function of different types of infrastructure in the cycling network, as elements in cycling routes. The study focuses on cyclist routes within urban areas (built-up areas)

Adolescent predictors of objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour at age 42: the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study (AGAHLS)

Background: This study investigated the associations of physical characteristics and personality in adolescence with physical activity and sedentary behaviour in adulthood.Findings: Physical characteristics (i.e. objectively measured BMI, sum of skin folds, MOPER test battery performance), and personality (i.e. self-reported inadequacy, social inadequacy, rigidity, self-sufficiency/recalcitrance, dominance, achievement motivation, facilitating anxiety, debilitating anxiety, and social desirability) were assessed in 217 adolescent boys (Mean 13.0, SD 0.6) and girls (Mean 12.9, SD 0.6). Twenty-nine years later, at the age of 42, their physical activity and sedentary behaviour were assessed by means of accelerometry. Boys who scored lower on self-sufficiency/recalcitrance and higher on facilitating anxiety spent more time sedentary in adulthood. Girls with a superior standing high jump performance, and a lower score on social desirability spent more time sedentary in adulthood. In contrast with sedentary behaviour, physical activity at age 42 year could not be predicted by physical characteristics or personality in adolescence.Conclusions: Sedentary behaviour in adulthood was partly explained by physical characteristics and/or personality in adolescence. Thus, our results suggest that it may be possible to identify people who are at risk of becoming sedentary at a rather young age. © 2011 Uijtdewilligen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

How do municipalities substantiate their effectiveness estimations?:An exploratory study of knowledge about road safety measures

Gemeenteambtenaren schatten de effectiviteit van verkeersveiligheidsmaatregelen vaak niet correct in: te positief voor de overwegend beperkte effectiviteit van verkeerslessen en voorlichtingscampagnes (zonder aanvullende handhaving) en te negatief voor de hoge effectiviteit van rotondes. Waarop baseren gemeenteambtenaren deze inschatting? Voor de effectiviteit van rotondes baseren ze hun inschatting vooral op kennis uit opleiding en publicaties. Voor verkeerslessen en voorlichtingscampagnes baseren ze zich vooral op hun eigen ervaring als verkeersdeelnemer of ouder, op praktijkervaring en op gewoonten. Kennis over effectiviteit van educatie en voorlichting uit factsheets vinden gemeenteambtenaren redelijk duidelijk; deze informatie wordt over het algemeen vertrouwd, maar blijkt wel vaak nieuw voor ze. Ook denken ze soms dat verkeerslessen wel effectief moeten zijn, omdat ze gefinancierd worden door provincie of Rijk. Meer aandacht voor effectiviteit in de opleiding en meer tijd om zich bezig te houden met verkeersveiligheid kunnen wellicht helpen de kennis hierover te verbeteren. Ook kunnen misverstanden worden voorkomen als enkel bewezen effectieve maatregelen zouden worden gesubsidieerd. Meer onderzoek naar de effectiviteit van educatie en voorlichting zou meer kennis hierover kunnen opleveren, evenals bewezen effectieve Nederlandse voorbeelden waarvan gemeenten kunnen leren

Test-retest reliability and construct validity of the ENERGY-child questionnaire on energy balance-related behaviours and their potential determinants: the ENERGY-project

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Insight in children's energy balance-related behaviours (EBRBs) and their determinants is important to inform obesity prevention research. Therefore, reliable and valid tools to measure these variables in large-scale population research are needed.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To examine the test-retest reliability and construct validity of the child questionnaire used in the ENERGY-project, measuring EBRBs and their potential determinants among 10-12 year old children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We collected data among 10-12 year old children (n = 730 in the test-retest reliability study; n = 96 in the construct validity study) in six European countries, i.e. Belgium, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. Test-retest reliability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and percentage agreement comparing scores from two measurements, administered one week apart. To assess construct validity, the agreement between questionnaire responses and a subsequent face-to-face interview was assessed using ICC and percentage agreement.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 150 questionnaire items, 115 (77%) showed good to excellent test-retest reliability as indicated by ICCs > .60 or percentage agreement ≥ 75%. Test-retest reliability was moderate for 34 items (23%) and poor for one item. Construct validity appeared to be good to excellent for 70 (47%) of the 150 items, as indicated by ICCs > .60 or percentage agreement ≥ 75%. From the other 80 items, construct validity was moderate for 39 (26%) and poor for 41 items (27%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results demonstrate that the ENERGY-child questionnaire, assessing EBRBs of the child as well as personal, family, and school-environmental determinants related to these EBRBs, has good test-retest reliability and moderate to good construct validity for the large majority of items.</p

A systematic review of methods to measure family co-participation in physical activity.

The family environment is key in influencing children's health behaviours. Encouraging family co-participation in physical activity may therefore be an effective approach to increasing children's physical activity levels. Yet, little is known about how to best assess family co-participation in physical activity. This review summarizes methods to measure family co-participation in physical activity, which was defined as joint physical activities including at least one healthy child (0-18 years) and one other family member. Methods were identified through a systematic literature search, cross-referencing pre-selected reviews and contacting research groups. Thirty-seven measurement methods were included. Questionnaires were the most common method used, with the majority assessing frequency of co-participation and few also assessing duration and type. Reliability and internal consistency of scales were often reported, but rarely specified for the item(s) relevant to co-participation. Other methods of measuring co-participation included diaries, event history calendars, direct observations and accelerometry combined with diary, ecological momentary assessment or global positioning systems (GPS). Whilst a large number of measurement methods of family co-participation in physical activity exist, few are comprehensive and/or report acceptable psychometric properties. Future work should focus on reaching consensus in defining family co-participation in physical activity, and subsequently developing reliable and valid measures