Infrastructure and Cyclist Safety (TRL Report PPR 580)

The Department for Transport commissioned TRL to conduct a literature review to consider the role of infrastructure in relation to the safety of cyclists and their interaction with other road users. It was undertaken as part of the wider research programme, Road User Safety and Cycling, being led by TRL. Overall, it proved problematic to draw firm conclusions from the literature. Taken as a whole, the most significant infrastructure-related risk factors for cyclists in single vehicle incidents on highways appear to be slippery roads (due to weather) and poor or defective road surfaces. For multi-vehicle collisions, the main infrastructure risk factors appear to be posted speed limits and encounters with other road users at junctions.