Psycho-behavioural determinants of vulnerable road user safety: a review

Safe, accessible and sustainable transportation systems should be an accepted expectation for everyone. Unfortunately, vulnerable road users (VRUs), which include cyclists, e-scooters, motorcyclists, pedestrians and people with disabilities, are often involved and severely injured or killed in road traffic accidents. A wide range of factors (including infrastructural, environmental and technical) influence the safety of VRUs. To date, limited studies have reviewed the psycho-behavioural aspects or the methodologies adopted that can assist in understanding the safety issues affecting VRUs. The aim of this work was to conduct a systematic review to reveal psycho-behavioural aspects that can influence the safety of VRUs and then use this information to identify cutting-edge methodologies to assess crucial factors influencing critical behavioural determinants that can support future road safety studies. Following a ‘preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses’ process, many articles were screened, selected (N = 91) and reviewed. These articles highlight key psycho-behavioural determinants, behavioural outcomes and research methodologies as themes that need consideration. Amalgamating this evidence can be used to identify gaps in research and practice and, in doing so, also emphasise the necessity for concerted actions that prioritise VRUs in urban planning and policy endeavours.