Cyclists who wear helmets are more likely to be hit by overtaking vehicles, psychologists said last night. Research reveals motorists drive more than three inches closer to cyclists in helmets because they see them as more experienced.

    However, female cyclists are given more roomon the road than male cyclists, according to the survey.

    The findings are being published by traffic psychologist Dr. lan Walker from the University of Bath. He used a bycycle fitted with an ultrasonic distance sensor to record data from more than 2.500 overtaking motorists.

    Dr Walker said : "This was something I had suspected, as many cyclists had told me of similar experiences. The perception is that those wearing helmets are more experienced and more predictable. Drivers think, "He knows what he's doing, he won't do anything surprising:' But that's really quite a dangerous thought, particularly as so many cycling novices are told to wear helmets" . Dr Walker was struck twice during the experiment.

    Buses and trucks were the worst offenders. While the average car gave cyclists 52 inches of room, trucks got 7.5 inches closer and buses 9 inches.

    Dr Walker wore a long wig to see if there was any difference in passing distance when vehicles thougt they were overtaking a female cyclist. Vehicle gave him an average 6 inches more space.

    He said this may be because women are seen as less predictable road users or because female cyclist are more rare and therefore treated with more caution.

    Dr Walker wants his research to raise awareness of the dangers facing cyclist on busy roads. Although road fatalities generally have fallen to a record low, cyclist deaths rose by an alarming 10% last year, official casualty figures reavealed in June.

    Overtaking cars are thoght to be the most dangerous hazard for riders. Dr Walker said: "We know from research that many
drivers see cyclists as a separate subculture to wich they don't belong. I hope drivers realize they are making assumptions about cyclists based on their appearance. If as a result of this study there were less injuries on the roads, that would be wonderful"

    Despite his findings, cyclists who wear helmets are more likely to survive a collision with a car, so the increased risk of an accident could be outweighed by the chances of living through it.

(Taken from: Real Reading 3, 2008)

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