Bike riders wear helmets and high-vis vests to reduce their vulnerability on the road. Problem is a new study finds this dehumanises cyclists, putting them more at risk of aggression from drivers.
This was mentioned in c/bicycles recently. I’m not surprised at the outcomes of the study, but I don’t think it should be taken to correlate with real-world behaviours. There was no investigation of other modes of transport, only two models were used for most pictures, the models in the pictures were simply standing beside a bike rather than riding it, two different models were used for 2 of the 10 data points, and the study is based on survey data (high degree of subjectivity).
I do agree that dehumanization is a contributing factor in aggression towards cyclists, but it’s a factor in nearly all prejudicial behaviour towards ‘outsider’ groups. I feel like the takeaway from this study should rather be that, generally, people wearing apparel that is not typical fashion could be seen as less human. And I definitely don’t think this should have an impact on one’s choice to wear safety gear or not.
This was mentioned in c/bicycles recently. I’m not surprised at the outcomes of the study, but I don’t think it should be taken to correlate with real-world behaviours. There was no investigation of other modes of transport, only two models were used for most pictures, the models in the pictures were simply standing beside a bike rather than riding it, two different models were used for 2 of the 10 data points, and the study is based on survey data (high degree of subjectivity).
I do agree that dehumanization is a contributing factor in aggression towards cyclists, but it’s a factor in nearly all prejudicial behaviour towards ‘outsider’ groups. I feel like the takeaway from this study should rather be that, generally, people wearing apparel that is not typical fashion could be seen as less human. And I definitely don’t think this should have an impact on one’s choice to wear safety gear or not.