Road Sharing – does it matter what road users think of each other?

Some rivalries are enduring. Manchester United fans despise Manchester City fans. Die hard Labour supporters cannot abide Conservatives. And it seems many car
drivers loathe cyclists – a feeling which is often mutual.Why is this so? Why do drivers consider the typical cyclist to be reckless and by
the same token cyclists view ‘the motorist’ as inconsiderate and malicious?

Questions like these cannot be ignored in the fields of transport policy and planning, since prejudice leads to antagonism that can seriously jeopardise road safety.

To help address these matters, the RAC Foundation commissioned Simon Christmas and Shaun Helman to explain some of the psychology behind road user interaction, and how perceptions and attitudes translate into actual behaviour.

The authors conclude that analysing the number of collisions on the roads is not the only way interaction can and should be measured. They point to the quality of experience as another yardstick. So too is the attainment of a road user’s goal. But these are more subjective areas involving value judgments and require an understanding of people’s so-called moral models.

Moral models help explain how one set of road users views another set. The models encapsulate how we expect other tribes on the roads to actually behave and how we think they ought to behave.

Typifying ‘rival’ road users allows us to take mental shortcuts when we encounter them, maximising the speed at which we anticipate what is going to happen around us.
The trouble is our assumptions might well be wrong. This is because stereotypes are generalisations, yet we all retain traits and characteristics that dictate how we behave. Even as part of a herd we remain individuals.

If the psychological processes employed by road users were better understood, allowance could be made for them when road systems and transport policies
are designed.

By offering some theoretical foundations this report provides a useful contribution to advancing the debate on road sharing. As the road network becomes ever more crowded, understanding how we share space – beyond what might be required by formal rules and regulations – becomes increasingly critical.