Paschertz, Benedikt (2022) Speed of Older Cyclists in Difficult Traffic Situations. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
The bicycle is one of the most widely used means of transport in the Netherlands and contributes to psychological and physical health-related advantages. As the cognitive and health-related decline in older adults increases their crash risk in traffic, research on age-related decline should be conducted to support safe infrastructure for the elderly. For that reason, this study concerned the differences in cycling behaviour between old and young cyclists in so-called ‘all-green intersections’ in the Netherlands. Participants were only selected if they made a full stop in front of a red traffic light to ensure that they decelerate when approaching the intersections and accelerate when leaving the intersections. Three hypotheses were analysed based on naturalistic video and GPS data: On average (1) older adults cycle slower, (2) brake less hard (decelerate), and (3) speed up (accelerate) less than younger cyclists. For analysis, four variables were designed regarding Mean Speed and Minimum Deceleration when approaching an intersection as well as Mean Speed and Maximum Acceleration when leaving an intersection. For the first hypothesis support was found when the cyclists approached an intersection but not when they left the intersection. Thus, older cyclists approach an intersection slower than younger cyclists but leave with a similar speed. The second and third hypotheses were both not supported by our results, which means that there is no difference in braking behaviour and acceleration behaviour between the two age groups. These findings indicate that the age difference might have been too small for identifying differences between the two age groups. Future research should focus on the differences in age-related decline, influencing the cycling behaviour of cyclists from specific age periods. Keywords: cycling, old, young, ageing, speed, deceleration, acceleration
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Supervisor name: | Westerhuis, F. and Waard, D. de |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Clinical Neuropsychology (CN) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 16 May 2022 14:26 |
| Last Modified: | 16 May 2022 14:26 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/455 |
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