Driving instructors less likely to believe collisions “are usually the cyclist’s fault” and that cyclists are “nuisances” after cycle awareness course, new government pilot study finds

Driving instructors who took part in a government cycle awareness pilot scheme are less likely to believe that cyclists are “nuisances” on the road or often at fault for collisions – and more likely to teach learner drivers about cycle safety – the study’s findings have shown.

This week the government published an evaluation of its Approved Driver Instructor (ADI) Cycle Awareness Pilot project, which was funded under the Department for Transport’s Cycling and Walking Investment Straegy.

The pilot scheme, through the increased availability of practical training and online learning resources, aimed to “raise awareness” among driving instructors and learner drivers of why people cycle and how cyclists behave, and to improve new drivers’ interactions with cyclists.

In March 2020, survey organisation Ipsos UK was commissioned to support the Bikeability Trust with the design and implementation of a randomised control trial, which would evaluate the impact of a package of training materials on ADIs’ attitudes towards and awareness of cyclists and their behaviour.

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The scheme involved a self-guided online learning course, developed by the Bikeability Trust and consisting of a mixture of videos, downloadable factsheets, interactive quizzes, and sample dialogues that can be shared with learner drivers.

The four modules, delivered sequentially, included ‘Sharing the road’, which focused on the benefits of active travel; ‘The law and the Highway Code’, which featured quizzes on infrastructure and cycling two abreast; ‘Training and National Standards’ for cycling and driving; and ‘Driving with cycle riders’, which focused on junctions, overtaking, and communication.

Between April 2021 and March 2022, driving instructors from areas with “high levels of cycling activity” – Bristol, Cambridge, Exeter, inner London, Manchester, Norwich, Oxford, and York – were recruited to the pilot scheme.

Participants were randomly allocated to a treatment group that was granted access to the learning materials, or a comparison group that was not granted access until the end of the pilot.

Both groups were asked to respond to two surveys at the beginning of the pilot and two to three months after its completion, covering attitudes towards cyclists, understanding of cyclists’ interactions with other road users, and their future intentions regarding both driving and driving instruction.

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Despite only 15 per cent of the recruited driving instructors completing both the course and the final survey (which the survey’s analysts attributed to the timing of the pilot during Covid-19, and the increased workloads of instructors thereafter), of those who did, 60 per cent were very satisfied with the learning materials, with 74 per cent finding the advice on sharing the road with cyclists particularly useful.

Nearly all respondents felt they had benefitted in some way from participating in the course, such as how they teach their learner drivers and their level of understanding of cyclists’ behaviours, with 92 per cent saying they would recommend it to other instructors.

Examining the differences in attitudes towards cyclists between those who were subject to the learning materials and those who weren’t, there was a small reduction in the ADIs’ belief that cyclists are a nuisance to other road users (which dropped by 0.33 points), and that cyclists are usually at fault when collisions occur on the road (0.23) after they completed the scheme.

The belief that ‘motorists should always have right of way over cyclists when using public roads’ and that ‘there are too many cyclists’ was also slightly lower among those who finished the study.

They were also more likely to state that ‘most cyclists adhere to the rules’ and that ‘it should be compulsory for learner drivers to undertake a cycling awareness course before they can take their driving test’.

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Meanwhile, analysis of the instructors’ perceptions of and behaviours towards cyclists showed a positive change in the immediate aftermath of the scheme, but these effects tended to fall over time, the study found.

There was also a self-reported intention from the majority of ADIs to change their teaching practices as a result of completing the course.

At the intervention stage, 89 per cent said they would teach students differently about how to deal with cyclists safely, and 82 per cent indicated their intention to increase the amount of teaching with each learner about cycle safety and incorporate more cycle awareness training into their lessons.

58 per cent also said they felt more confident teaching their students how to deal with people on bikes on the road, while 87 per cent believed the course will help them improve their teaching and make them a better driving instructor.