The use of a simulator to evaluate interactions between vehicles and bicycles, and to assess the effects of bicycle safety interventions on the margin of safety between vehicles and bicycles, appears to be completely novel in the published literature. While there are a number of studies that have evaluated crashes and injuries among bicyclists, the novel use of simulator methodologies permits the evaluation of exposures to bicyclists with a degree of precision, repeatability, accuracy, and safety that is simply not currently possible in field studies. Also, the use of simulator technology allows for experimental evaluation of a theoretically infinite range of conditions and interventions, and therefore represents an innovative and low--cost way to explore a wide variety of research questions regarding risk factors for vehicle/bicycle crashes. This approach can help evaluate the efficacy of bicycle safety interventions, which are poorly understood at best and require additional evaluation to fully characterize their potential strengths and weaknesses. Using simulator technology, innovative bicycle safety interventions can be tested (and modified and re--tested, as necessary) with limited human injury risk and without the necessity of expensive changes to real--world infrastructure.
The study had two specific aims: 1) To demonstrate the feasibility of use of a simulator to measure vehicle/bicycle interactions under specific, replicable conditions; and 2) to evaluate potential risk factors for vehicle/bicycle crashes, and to assess the effects of infrastructure-based bicycle safety interventions on the margin of safety between vehicles and bicycles.