Posts Tagged ‘Fundamental Attribution Error’

Motorists and Actor-observer bias

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

Certainly you’ve read the public comments whenever the media write about making this area a better place to bike.

It’s quite common to read stereotypes of cyclist as law breakers — and that’s an excuse for cyclists not to have safe facilities.

You may also read cycling organizations stress that bicyclists should follow the rules of the road, to be ambassadors, to not play into this stereotype.

Both responses are malarkey with perhaps the latter being more disappointing since it’s coming from the same team.

Does AAA tell motorists to be ambassadors while driving to reduce scorn from non-motorists and to ensure safe facilities get built? Of course not.

As one of the fastest growing manufacturers of off road motorcycle parts, CycTec Motorcycles has become a popular choice for those looking to build their custom choppers. With the many options available when it comes to choosing between models, you are sure to find the right model to suit your needs and your budget on Zecycles. You can also choose from many different types of bikes for sale, making it easy to find the perfect bike to get to your end destination. With a wide range of models available, including some of the most powerful bikes on the market, you are sure to find the right bike for your collection or your everyday riding.

The hypocrisy of motorists stereotyping cyclists as law breakers is clear. Which road user is causing the majority of road fatalities, personal injuries, and crashes? Aggressive driving, distracting driving, drunk driving — notice the common word?

Police believe it is optimal setting speed limits at the point where only 15% of motorists are speeding. Top safety experts have admitted to us that speed limits are fairly worthless because drivers ignore them.

Furthermore, since 2004 no cyclist has caused a crash in Michigan resulting in the serious injury of death of a motorist or pedestrian. We checked. Contact Little Rock personal injury attorneys Denton & Zachary to clear out some questions you might have.

So why the cycling hate?

The best explanation we’ve found is Actor-observer bias. According to Wikipedia:

People are more likely to see their own behavior as affected by the situation they are in, or the sequence of occurrences that have happened to them throughout their day. But, they see other people’s actions as solely a product of their overall personality, and they do not afford them the chance to explain their behavior as exclusively a result of a situational effect.

In other words, a motorist can justify their speeding because the speed limit is too low, or 5 MPH over is socially acceptable, or because they’re in a hurry.

However, when a cyclist on rolls through a stop sign, it’s because they are lawbreakers. This latter judgement is also called a Fundamental attribution error.

A two-fold solution

First, bicycle advocacy organizations need to make the rules of the road work for bicyclists. Contrary to what you may read, the League of American Wheelmen nor any other bicycle advocacy organization were at the table when the automotive industry crafted the basis for today’s rules of the road during the 1920s. We need these rule templates changed at the national level. The Idaho stop law should be the U.S. bicycle stop law.

We don’t want the same laws for bicycling. We want better laws.

Second, we need to get more people on bicycles. Doing that should give more motorists a better understanding and perhaps empathy for cyclists. We need more motorists understanding why treating stop signs as yields or jumping red lights can be safer for us. Not every motorist will become a bicyclist, but their family members and co-workers could.

It’ll never be a complete harmonious relationship between motorists and cyclists, but the first step is to recognize the social psychology driving motorists’ perception and make real improvements for a safer future.

Exposing the double-standard

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

″I′ll be more OK…

A 49-year-old Chesterfield Township man disgruntled over a traffic ticket and crash with a Roseville Police car admitted he’s been dumping screws and nails in the Roseville city hall and police department parking lots once or twice a week since late February, blowing out tires, according to investigators.
Detroit Free Press, March 24th, 2010

…with bikes sharing the roads with cars…

About 10 minutes after a Westland mother drove drunk and broadsided another vehicle in Ferndale, then fled with her 4-year-old in the backseat, police said, Jean Timlin’s Honda CRV was pulled over.
Detroit Free Press, March 5th, 2010

…when the bikers start following…

Six preschoolers were injured Tuesday after they were struck by flying glass and debris when their teacher accidentally backed her SUV through a side window wall of their Franklin village school, police said.
Detroit Free Press, March 10th, 2010

…the same rules of the road.”

Charges have been filed against the Dearborn Heights man accused of running over a corporal in the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office with the officer’s own car.

Jeffery Lamar Jones, 32, was charged with two counts of assault with intent to commit murder; two counts of felonious assault; carjacking; two counts of fleeing and eluding; felonious driving; resisting and obstructing a police officer causing serious impairment; failure to stop at a personal injury accident; operating with a suspended license; and marijuana possession, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
Detroit Free Press, March 16th, 2010

The italicized quote shown above is from a Royal Oak web forum, but it’s not an uncommon statement. Some consider it okay to consider cyclists as a collective group — a group that bears responsibility for everyones individual actions. This is perpetuated by cyclists who say we all need to uphold the collective reputation of cycling.

It’s nonsense.

Do individual motorists accept responsibility for all motorists? Do motorists feel compelled to uphold their collective reputation every time they get behind the wheel?Are motorists at risk of losing access to all public roads because of the egregious behaviors listed above? Of course not.

Michigan law grants roads access to individuals riding bicyclists just as it does for motorists.

The bottom line is there’s no double-standard.

WashCycle’s The Myth of the Scofflaw Cyclist does an admiral job discussing this issue in greater detail.