"I’m a Normal Person:" An Examination of How Utilitarian Cyclists in Charleston South Carolina Use an Insider/Outsider Framework to Make Sense of Risks

This paper analyses 41 qualitative interviews with utilitarian cyclists in Charleston South Carolina to explore their understanding of cycling-related risks. The utilitarian cyclists list a number of risks related to motorist behaviour, such as cars passing too closely, which make them feel unsafe. Thirty-nine out of 41 of the respondents reveal the sentiment that often the risky behaviour of motorists is part of an anti-bicycle culture. This paper concludes that cyclists, in their attempt to make sense of these risks, perceive that the anti- bicycle culture is based on a system of exclusion in which drivers are insiders who belong on the road and treat cyclists as outsiders who do not belong.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00420980
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications, Ltd, from Author, Article Title, Journal Issue, Copyright Owner, Year.
• Authors:
  • McCarthy, Deborah
• Publication Date: 2011-5-22

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 1439-1455
• Serial:
  • Urban Studies
  • Volume: 48
  • Issue Number: 7
  • Publisher: Sage Publications, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0042-0980
  • EISSN: 1360-063X
  • Serial URL: http://usj.sagepub.com/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Bicycle travel; Cyclists; Drivers; Highway safety; Human factors in crashes; Interviewing; Passing; Risk assessment
• Geographic Terms: Charleston (South Carolina)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01345355
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 21 2011 10:08AM