Applying Behavioural Science to Cycling

Behavioural architect Crawford Hollingworth has created a product derived from cognitive behavioural science concepts, with the aim to make our roads safer for cyclists.

"It's that screech of tyres behind you which makes your heart jump into your mouth," says Hollingsworth. "I've had some close calls as a cyclist in London and Oxford. Almost every day, friends who cycled to the office would arrive with a story of how they'd had to brake to avoid a car because someone didn't quite see them, or how a wing mirror had caught their arm."

Hollingworth, who founded the Behavioural Architects Consultancy, decided to apply some of the techniques practiced in his work to the issue of urban cycle safety. The result was ‘Brainy Bike Lights’, which uses the familiar icon of a bike and rider to speed up the time a driver takes to identify a cyclist.

The lights, which are purchased as a duo, fit onto the front and rear of the bike, giving the driver more time to interpret the appropriate safety measures necessary in ensuring the complete safety of the cycler.

With urban light clutter making it difficult for drivers to pick out cyclists, the illuminated symbol, consisting of both a bike and a vulnerable rider, will engage the driver’s brain and allow for them to consciously differentiate between the vast array of road lights and the cyclist. This combination of both the bike and the rider is thought to trigger the brain’s natural instinct to show added caution around a vulnerable human being.

"I was struck by how many incidents there were – the kind that go unreported – and I was also seeing more and more of those white ghost bikes, marking the places where cyclists have been killed," Hollingworth says. "Behavioural insight is using any understanding of the brain's working to change behaviour. It's understanding how the brain is structured, and creating things that play to that structure.”

Research from the AA and Populus last month found that an alarming 93% of drivers said it was sometimes hard to see cyclists while driving. Another study showed that drivers failed to see one-in-five cyclists, with younger drivers missing one-in-three.

"When you're driving, your brain is looking to make sense of things, and it's doing it in milliseconds, mainly at a sub-conscious level," says Hollingworth. "Drivers are essentially on auto-pilot. The brain is operating on a system one intuitive level, making snap decisions.”

This is backed up by a recent survey that showed more than half of vehicle drivers admitting they drove on autopilot, and when being asked to recall specific aspects of their journey, such as stopping at red lights, were unable to do so.

The LED edge technology allows motorists to see the symbol clearly from all angles, from up to 20 meters away.

"Basically, we're using our knowledge of how the brain is structured to influence a person's behaviour," says Hollingworth. "Originally I thought these lights would stop people getting knocked off and killed – which I think they will – but I think it will also have this subconscious effect and give drivers extra milliseconds to adjust, and so give cyclists slightly more room, without even knowing that they're doing it."

Find out more about Brainy Bike Lights, and how to protect yourself on your next cycling journey: www.brainybikelights.com.

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