Riding through red lights: The rate, characteristics and risk factors of non‐compliant urban commuter cyclists

This study determined the rate and associated factors of red light infringement among urban commuter cyclists. A cross‐sectional observational study was conducted using a covert video camera to record cyclists at 10 sites across metropolitan Melbourne, Australia from October 2008 to April 2009. In total, 4225 cyclists faced a red light and 6.9% were non‐compliant. The main predictive factor for infringement was direction of travel, cyclists turning left (traffic travels on the left‐side in Australia) had 28.3 times the relative odds of infringement compared to cyclists who continued straight through the intersection. Presence of other road users had a deterrent effect with the odds of infringement lower when a vehicle travelling in the same direction was present (OR=0.39, 95% CI 0.28–0.53) or when other cyclists were present (OR=0.26, 95% CI 0.19–0.36). Findings suggest that some cyclists do not perceive turning left against a red signal to be unsafe and the opportunity to ride through the red light during low cross traffic times influences the likelihood of infringement.