Bridging the gap: a scoping review exploring the relationship between objective and subjective cycling safety

Miguel Costa, Manuel Marques, Felix Wilhelm Siebert, Carlos Lima Azevedo and Filipe Moura

Transport Reviews, 2025, vol. 45, issue 6, 993-1015

Abstract: Research on cycling safety helps create urban environments where cyclists feel and are safe. Cycling safety is studied from two perspectives: objective safety, which examines crashes' causes and consequences, and subjective safety, which explores individuals' perceptions of said crashes. While studying both aspects are important, they are often studied separately. However, understanding their relationship is vital to ensure policies and measures benefit both without unintended negative effects on each. This study reviews literature on the connection between objective and subjective safety. Results show this relationship is complex and context-dependent, with both alignments and discrepancies. Key methodologies, findings, and challenges are discussed to better understand how this relationship can be influenced. The roles of individual behaviour, self-selection, and risk homeostasis in shaping this dynamic are hypothesised and discussed. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of aligning urban planning and safety measures with cyclists' actual and perceived safety. Future research directions are proposed to help authorities and practitioners design interventions that effectively enhance both safety dimensions, ensuring cycling becomes a safer and more appealing mode of transportation.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01441647.2025.2537200 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:transr:v:45:y:2025:i:6:p:993-1015

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/TTRV20

DOI: 10.1080/01441647.2025.2537200

Access Statistics for this article

Transport Reviews is currently edited by Professor David Banister and Moshe Givoni

More articles in Transport Reviews from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().