On february the 4th, our group went to Brussels to observe the busy traffic from a pedestrians and bikers point of view. To summarize, we thought out methods to gain valuable information which results in diverse insights to tackle this particular problem.
Traffic Situations
At first we looked up busy traffic areas and observed how both the truckers and the bikers react to one anothers presence in different situations. Also we bumped into interesting road signs, which indicate on situations where blindspots might occur.
1. Separated car/truck and biker lanes
2. Separated car/truck and biker lanes without safety boundaries
"A truck is waiting for a red light and indicates he will turn right. Where is the safest place to wait as a biker?" (See next picture; situation sketch & results)
It seems people rather choose to be far away from the truck (e.g. G), although it is safer to be close to the truck (e.g. B and F, but NOT A or C).
A major rule would be, that if people can not see the truckdiver directly or in his mirrors, they are in the blindspot.
Traffic Situations
At first we looked up busy traffic areas and observed how both the truckers and the bikers react to one anothers presence in different situations. Also we bumped into interesting road signs, which indicate on situations where blindspots might occur.
1. Separated car/truck and biker lanes
3. Completely shared car/truck and biker lanes
4. Spots where trucks/car can be "loading and unloading" their goods
5. Very busy and unsaparated roundabouts
6. One way roads with the exception for bikers
7. Wrong parked vehicles / faulty maneuvers - situations
Passersby Tests
During our field trip, we also set up a quick test in which we provide passersby 1 traffic situation.
The situations goes as follows;"A truck is waiting for a red light and indicates he will turn right. Where is the safest place to wait as a biker?" (See next picture; situation sketch & results)
As mentioned in the picture above, we conclude people mostly choose for G, which is right in the blindspot of the truck. Althought, a lot of people would choose to wait in F too, where they can be seen well by the truckdriver, the result still confirms the problem with regard to the blindspot.
It seems people rather choose to be far away from the truck (e.g. G), although it is safer to be close to the truck (e.g. B and F, but NOT A or C).
A major rule would be, that if people can not see the truckdiver directly or in his mirrors, they are in the blindspot.
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