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London bike commuters in Lycra (copyright Britishcycloing.org_.uk)Do certain types of clothing make cyclists seem 'less human' to motorists?
An urban planner has launched a survey to find out if certain types of clothing can make cyclists seem 'less human'.
Dr Mark Limb, from Brisbane, was inspired by a 2019 study that found more than half of car drivers in Australia think cyclists are 'not completely human'.
The research suggested that this dehumanisation was one of the main triggers for deliberate acts of aggression towards riders.
Dr Limb is an urban planning lecturer with Queensland University of Technology's School of Architecture and Built Environment whose research areas include land use planning and active transport, such as cycling.
He is also a cyclist and hopes his pilot study will provide more insights into the ever so slightly fragile relationship between bike riders and drivers.
> road.cc’s Best Cycling Clothing of the Year 2020/21
He said: “Previous research has already established that many drivers see cyclists as less than human.
"It’s also shown a link between belief and behaviour – the more someone thought a cyclist was less than human, the more likely they were to do something dangerous, like driving too close to them.
"What I’m investigating is why people have these dehumanising attitudes towards cyclists – my main question is: Is it because of the way they look?”
Dr Limb needs at least 400 people to complete the online survey, which will show them pairs of photos of cyclists wearing different sorts of attire, Mirage News report.
“They will be presented with random pairs of photographs and be asked to select the photo that they instinctively feel looks ‘less human’,” he said.
“The survey can be completed by anyone aged 18 and over who is a resident of Australia.”
Latest Comments
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Tier scooters - When visiting Keynsham I found several apparently dumped (not all at once - could have been the same ones? )...
- mdavidford 20 min 20 sec ago
The answer to this is to have no friends.
- mdavidford 26 min 22 sec ago
To be fair to Attenborough, he doesn't appear to actually have any involvement in or have offered any particular support for the campaign. A child...
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What's that? A mobile home for squirrels?
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While original sash windows are nice they make it very hard to keep the house warm, we eventually went for upvc double glazed sash window...
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As you said the pedals will be hidden anyway. My shoes, 3 pairs of them, have reflective strips on the heel and my winter trousers do too on the...
- Steve K 3 hours 38 min ago
Other drivers only care about disabled people when it gives them a way to object to cycling infrastructure.
- mark1a 11 hours 41 min ago
I'll put you down as a no then.
- chrisonabike 17 hours 7 min ago
Well if you *can* interview the original riders at all surely they worked, at least?...
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43 comments
Anecdote is not data, but I just finished an hour of fasted ride in lycra shorts, hi vis hoodie and wooly hat, doing laps on the dual carriageway, notched up four "jesuswtf" close (less than 2 feet) passes.
Doing the same road in jeans and a hoodie on my daily commute, very rarely get any close passes. Sod it, I'm training in jeans from now on, keeping the lycra for the weekends.
Yep it's one of the reasons I don't wear a helmet.
He should run his experiment and then repeat it, recruiting only Audi and BMW drivers.
90% of communication is non-verbal, something like that they say on the management courses. I'm sure there is something in this idea.
I think we're back to the othering of cyclists because so many people don't seem to have a cyclist as any sort of influence in their lives.
I think this "90% of communication is non-verbal" is an urban myth. We'd hardly have needed to develop language if it was true.
Them phone things would never have caught on...
You do have to be in the same room for the non-verbal thing to work, to be fair.
A couple of times on Saturday's walk, on a woodland trail and at a viewing point, we had parents apologising to us about their kids being noisy - I think the non-verbal communication (aka impression) we give inadvertently suggests we don't like children and / or we only want peace and tranquility. No need folks, it's nice to see them mucking about with sticks like kids should, or taking in the view and working out where home was. If they were being ill-tempered over-indulged little horrors, that would be a different matter...
I've said this elsewhere on the same subject. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. There's an expectation that you dress to make yourself obvious to motorists, in doing so you are obviously a cyclist and hated for it.
The only way I see it changing is if utility cycling returns (in Australia) in sufficient numbers for it to be seen as a normal transport option, not just something for athletes and fringe dwelling freaks. There are some signs that government are looking to do that, but it will take time to turn around decades of car centric planning.
And the removal of the helmet law.
Does the clothing drivers wear make them less human? No; because they are all Neanderthal low-lifes whatever they wear.
well my anectdotal evidence is it does, when Im dressed as sporty cyclist vs utility cyclist, and Ive observed it on the road too when I got close passed but the very next cyclist along the same car gave plenty of room and the real only difference is the clothes we were wearing. I get far more aggro on the road from drivers dressed as sporty cyclist, than I do dressed as utility cyclist.
I think this is the point. The result is only likely to show drivers bigotted opinions and will have nothing to do with actual road safety.
Years ago (before beards were trendy) there was research that suggested that people that shaved every morning lived longer. This was true but had nothing to do with the act of shaving. Those that do shave every morning are more likely to be white collar workers, men that look after themselves etc...
There is a study knocking about that motorists tend to drive closer to those wearing 'the kit' when overtaking due to a perception that they know what they're doing and are less likely to cycle erratically than those who wear regular clothing. I've experienced this myself when I've been out and received a close pass yet the guy in front in duds is given a wide hearth!
A kind gesture (assuming it fitted their room) but smokeless fuel is harder to get these days.
Good spot, sir. Took a moment but it made me smile.
I find it the other way round. My thoughts is that my relative speed to traffic is closer when I am on a lighter bike and wearing sportier clothes. I doubt Neanderthals see beyond bike though 🤔
I'm interested to know what drivers think of runners who wear technical clothing, have very specfic footwear and all manner of tech watches. Are they ridiculed or run over?
And middle aged walkers or MIMWIGs.
Then there are tennis players, cricketers, footballers, rugby players with various attire.
Had one lady on a local FB forum giving the 'ole 'why do they wear lycra' bashing, but on her profile plenty of gym selfies wearing - you guessed it - lycra.
At least you can point to the weight and aero advantages with cycling, in the gym, there's less reason for it!
Chafing.
The hypocrisy is hard to understand.
But in the end my choice of clothing while on a bike, whether it's to commute to work or go for a recreational ride, is absolutely no-one else's f**king business!
The Prime Minister is not brilliant because he is a liar.
Not to mention; hypocrite, cheat and coward. Brilliant? Outshone by a candle.
Don't forget racist and bigamist!
Incompetent, don't leave out just plain old incompetence
Nigel Garrage "With shops etc reopening I'm also worried about a drop off in cycling - I certainly saw fewer cyclists than I was expecting on my afternoon ride today in BEAUTIFUL weather."
Same here, where was everybody today?
In the shops/ down the pub - do keep up !!!
We pass a national trust beauty spot on one of our walks. Dull weekend in February : car park rammed. Pleasant day in April : three cars. The average home is warmer, more comfortable and has more entertainment ( "we had to make us own when I were a lad" ) yet we all have to be out somewhere.
A fantastic post on the whole. The bit about the PM was the only fly in the cream that let it down
Keep up the great effort!
SUIT you Sir.
Dude, you and I ride bikes cos we're awesome.
Johnson just rides a bike. He's actually a twunt and his occasional pedaling doesn't give him a free pass to be the corrupt shyster that he is.
Yes I've have seen Kahn riding a bike.
Starmer who?
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