A new study from Australia found that an alarming number of people do not see cyclists as human, with those riding bicycles while wearing helmets or safety vests seen as less human compared to those without.

The research (link is external) comes from Mark Limb of Queensland University of Technology and Sarah Collyer of Flinders University, and was published in Volume 95 of Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour.

Noting that efforts to increase cycling uptake are hindered by negative attitudes towards cyclists, the survey asked 563 people their views on cyclists and attempted to provide empirical evidence that explains these dehumanising perceptions.

Of 563 people surveyed, 30 per cent considered cyclists less than fully human, and the researchers looked to evaluate how wearing helmets and other safety clothing may affect the way cyclists are viewed.

"We tested this hypothesis through a survey comprised of two-paired alternate forced choice questions to identify which image of a cyclist respondents consider to be less human," the study's abstract explains.

"We then analysed the results using a Bradley-Terry probability model. We found images of cyclists wearing helmets or safety vests to have a higher probability of being selected as less human compared to images of cyclists wearing no safety equipment. The results have implications for research on cyclist dehumanisation and its mitigation."

Cyclists with helmets were perceived as less human compared to those without, while cyclists with safety vests and no helmets were perceived as least human.

The researchers concluded that dehumanisation related more to visible safety gear than obstruction of hair or eyes and the perceptions of dehumanisation also varied based on respondent gender.

On the same lines, cyclists wearing a cap were viewed as more human than those wearing a full helmet.

"Our findings add to this growing research, suggesting that cyclists wearing safety attire, particularly high-visibility vests, may be dehumanised more so than cyclists without safety attire," the study concludes.

"As dehumanisation has been found to be predictive of hostile and aggressive behaviour (Kteily & Landry, 2022), our finding highlights a potential conflict around the perception and utility of safety gear such as high-visibility vests; although designed for safety, they may inadvertently increase levels of hostility and aggression towards this group of vulnerable road users."

https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-wearing-helmets-seen-less-human-301661

What seems to be missing from this work is the question of what cyclists
are doing to engender such a poor view of them by other road users.

Perhaps an overbearing and aggressive self-entitled attitude, combined with
poor roadcraft, an unrealistic expectation that everyone else, including
the most vulnerable road users, must look after them, and naked displays of
casual law-breaking, might have something to do with it.

I wonder who will fund such research, as cyclists certainly won’t.

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> A new study from Australia found that an alarming number of people do not
> see cyclists as human, with those riding bicycles while wearing helmets
> or safety vests seen as less human compared to those without.
>
> The research (link is external) comes from Mark Limb of Queensland
> University of Technology and Sarah Collyer of Flinders University, and
> was published in Volume 95 of Transportation Research Part F: Traffic
> Psychology and Behaviour.
>
> Noting that efforts to increase cycling uptake are hindered by negative
> attitudes towards cyclists, the survey asked 563 people their views on
> cyclists and attempted to provide empirical evidence that explains these
> dehumanising perceptions.
>
> Of 563 people surveyed, 30 per cent considered cyclists less than fully
> human, and the researchers looked to evaluate how wearing helmets and
> other safety clothing may affect the way cyclists are viewed.
>
> "We tested this hypothesis through a survey comprised of two-paired
> alternate forced choice questions to identify which image of a cyclist
> respondents consider to be less human," the study's abstract explains.
>
> "We then analysed the results using a Bradley-Terry probability model. We
> found images of cyclists wearing helmets or safety vests to have a higher
> probability of being selected as less human compared to images of
> cyclists wearing no safety equipment. The results have implications for
> research on cyclist dehumanisation and its mitigation."
>
> Cyclists with helmets were perceived as less human compared to those
> without, while cyclists with safety vests and no helmets were perceived as least human.
>
> The researchers concluded that dehumanisation related more to visible
> safety gear than obstruction of hair or eyes and the perceptions of
> dehumanisation also varied based on respondent gender.
>
> On the same lines, cyclists wearing a cap were viewed as more human than
> those wearing a full helmet.
>
> "Our findings add to this growing research, suggesting that cyclists
> wearing safety attire, particularly high-visibility vests, may be
> dehumanised more so than cyclists without safety attire," the study concludes.
>
> "As dehumanisation has been found to be predictive of hostile and
> aggressive behaviour (Kteily & Landry, 2022), our finding highlights a
> potential conflict around the perception and utility of safety gear such
> as high-visibility vests; although designed for safety, they may
> inadvertently increase levels of hostility and aggression towards this
> group of vulnerable road users."
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-wearing-helmets-seen-less-human-301661
>

--
Spike

On 04/06/2023 02:49 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> A new study from Australia found that an alarming number of people do not see chav-cyclists as human, with those riding chav-bicycles while wearing helmets or safety vests seen as less human compared to those without.
> The research (link is external) comes from Mark Limb of Queensland University of Technology and Sarah Collyer of Flinders University, and was published in Volume 95 of Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour.
> Noting that efforts to increase chav-cycling uptake are hindered by negative attitudes towards chav-cyclists, the survey asked 563 people their views on chav-cyclists and attempted to provide empirical evidence that explains these dehumanising perceptions.
> Of 563 people surveyed, 30 per cent considered chav-cyclists less than fully human, and the researchers looked to evaluate how wearing helmets and other safety clothing may affect the way chav-cyclists are viewed.
>
> "We tested this hypothesis through a survey comprised of two-paired alternate forced choice questions to identify which image of a cyclist respondents consider to be less human," the study's abstract explains.
> "We then analysed the results using a Bradley-Terry probability model. We found images of chav-cyclists wearing helmets or safety vests to have a higher probability of being selected as less human compared to images of chav-cyclists wearing no safety equipment. The results have implications for research on cyclist dehumanisation and its mitigation."

Not as surprising as it might seem.

After all, we already know that many UK chav-cyclists *themselves*
regard chav-cyclists wearing chav-cycling helmets to be lesser beings,
betraying the "cause" (whatever it might be).

> Chav-cyclists with helmets were perceived as less human compared to those without, while chav-cyclists with safety vests and no helmets were perceived as least human.
>> The researchers concluded that dehumanisation related more to visible safety gear than obstruction of hair or eyes and the perceptions of dehumanisation also varied based on respondent gender.
> On the same lines, chav-cyclists wearing a cap were viewed as more human than those wearing a full helmet.
> "Our findings add to this growing research, suggesting that chav-cyclists wearing safety attire, particularly high-visibility vests, may be dehumanised more so than chav-cyclists without safety attire," the study concludes.
> "As dehumanisation has been found to be predictive of hostile and aggressive behaviour (Kteily & Landry, 2022), our finding highlights a potential conflict around the perception and utility of safety gear such as high-visibility vests; although designed for safety, they may inadvertently increase levels of hostility and aggression towards this group of vulnerable road users."
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-wearing-helmets-seen-less-human-301661

What one has to bear in mind is these responses cannot and do not arise
in a vacuum. It has to be something about chavs-on-bikes' perceived
*behaviour* which gives these impressions.

HoldingOn | 147 posts | 14 min ago
1 like
"Wear hi-vis or we can't see you!"
"GET THE HI-VIS SUBHUMAN!"
I see what they did there...

Yeah, it's definitely a deep down instinct that probably comes from our territorial primate background.

What we (as a society) should be doing is recognising this tendency and attempting to defuse it by always incorporating the human element where possible. This is why reporting on RTCs should mention the driver rather than the vehicle and we should definitely avoid language that lumps people together in a derisory way (e.g. referring to illegal refugees rather than people seeking asylum from brutal regimes).

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yeah, it's definitely a deep down instinct that probably comes from our
> territorial primate background.
>
> What we (as a society) should be doing is recognising this tendency and
> attempting to defuse it by always incorporating the human element where
> possible. This is why reporting on RTCs should mention the driver rather
> than the vehicle and we should definitely avoid language that lumps
> people together in a derisory way (e.g. referring to illegal refugees
> rather than people seeking asylum from brutal regimes).

Can refugees be illegal?

Are there any ‘brutal regimes’ in the countries nearest the UK?

I think you missed out the greater category of ‘economic migrants’.

--
Spike

On 04/06/2023 04:35 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> Yeah, it's definitely a deep down instinct that probably comes from our territorial primate background.
>
> What we (as a society) should be doing is recognising this tendency and attempting to defuse it by always incorporating the human element where possible.

Absolutely.

Chavs on bikes should obviously start behaving better. You know, being
courteous to other road-users, being less selfish and "entitled" and in
particular - OBEYING THE LAW!

What I intended to say, was: was this study carried out in the same Australia which made helmets mandatory? I wonder what the authorities have to say about it...

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> What I intended to say, was: was this study carried out in the same
> Australia which made helmets mandatory? I wonder what the authorities
> have to say about it...

Ding!

This study seems, to judge by the pictures towards the end of the document,
to be concerned with the ‘racing’ style of helmet that could be said to be
designed with an aggressive appearance, rather than a helmet property
designed for safety.

Cyclists, by this means, could be stoking aggression rather than trying to
diffuse it. If anyone has waded through this prolix report, perhaps they
might note whether the report comments on this aspect of the subject.

There doesn’t seem to be a reference to the funding of this work.

--
Spike

I'd say that it's fairly common across human societies. There's a well known political tactic that relies on "othering" a group so that people come to see them as dangerous to their own way of life. At the risk of Godwinning this thread already, Hitler obviously used Jews as a scapegoat for all of Germany's problems at the time and deliberately categorised them as less than human. You see similar patterns in modern discourse, especially in the U.S. where the far-right are banning LGBTS related books from schools and libraries. (Also, compare with cyclist infrastructure being blamed for increased congestion and pollution).

Of course, cyclists aren't "othered" to the same degree as other persecuted groups, but it does lead to unnecessary violence and death whenever the media pushes an "othering" narrative.

How true.

Today I was bicycling downhill to a t-intersection, intending to turn
sharp left up another hill.
At the intersection an OAP gazing into her telephone was about to step
off the footpath in front of me.
I failed to hit her or run her over.
Oh the shame! Have to try better next time.

On 5/06/23 02:43, Spike wrote:
> What seems to be missing from this work is the question of what cyclists
> are doing to engender such a poor view of them by other road users.
>
> Perhaps an overbearing and aggressive self-entitled attitude, combined with
> poor roadcraft, an unrealistic expectation that everyone else, including
> the most vulnerable road users, must look after them, and naked displays of
> casual law-breaking, might have something to do with it.
>
> I wonder who will fund such research, as cyclists certainly won’t.
>
>
> swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
>> A new study from Australia found that an alarming number of people do not
>> see cyclists as human, with those riding bicycles while wearing helmets
>> or safety vests seen as less human compared to those without.
>>
>> The research (link is external) comes from Mark Limb of Queensland
>> University of Technology and Sarah Collyer of Flinders University, and
>> was published in Volume 95 of Transportation Research Part F: Traffic
>> Psychology and Behaviour.
>>
>> Noting that efforts to increase cycling uptake are hindered by negative
>> attitudes towards cyclists, the survey asked 563 people their views on
>> cyclists and attempted to provide empirical evidence that explains these
>> dehumanising perceptions.
>>
>> Of 563 people surveyed, 30 per cent considered cyclists less than fully
>> human, and the researchers looked to evaluate how wearing helmets and
>> other safety clothing may affect the way cyclists are viewed.
>>
>> "We tested this hypothesis through a survey comprised of two-paired
>> alternate forced choice questions to identify which image of a cyclist
>> respondents consider to be less human," the study's abstract explains.
>>
>> "We then analysed the results using a Bradley-Terry probability model. We
>> found images of cyclists wearing helmets or safety vests to have a higher
>> probability of being selected as less human compared to images of
>> cyclists wearing no safety equipment. The results have implications for
>> research on cyclist dehumanisation and its mitigation."
>>
>> Cyclists with helmets were perceived as less human compared to those
>> without, while cyclists with safety vests and no helmets were perceived as least human.
>>
>> The researchers concluded that dehumanisation related more to visible
>> safety gear than obstruction of hair or eyes and the perceptions of
>> dehumanisation also varied based on respondent gender.
>>
>> On the same lines, cyclists wearing a cap were viewed as more human than
>> those wearing a full helmet.
>>
>> "Our findings add to this growing research, suggesting that cyclists
>> wearing safety attire, particularly high-visibility vests, may be
>> dehumanised more so than cyclists without safety attire," the study concludes.
>>
>> "As dehumanisation has been found to be predictive of hostile and
>> aggressive behaviour (Kteily & Landry, 2022), our finding highlights a
>> potential conflict around the perception and utility of safety gear such
>> as high-visibility vests; although designed for safety, they may
>> inadvertently increase levels of hostility and aggression towards this
>> group of vulnerable road users."
>>
>> https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-wearing-helmets-seen-less-human-301661
>>
>
>
>

In my sample size of one , I get 'given' much more room riding my mountain bike by passing drivers. On my road bike I get a lot of close passes and some 'friendly' bumps. Wearing helmet and yellow jersey both types of bike.

I think you could be on to something there. Motorists probably are more triggered by "does he think he's in the TdF" than by "regular Jo/e on a bike like what I once rode as a kid"