Drivers’ Risk and Emotional Intelligence in Safe Interactions with Vulnerable Road Users: Toward Sustainable Mobility

Sustainable urban transportation relies on safe interactions between motor vehicles and vulnerable road users (VRUs) such as bicyclists and pedestrians. This study evaluates how drivers’ risk-taking and emotional intelligence (EI) influence their interactions with VRUs in urban environments. A driving simulator study with 40 participants examined nine bicycle-passing events and one pedestrian-crossing scenario. The results show that higher risk-taking is significantly associated with more hazardous behaviors: each unit increase in risk-taking predicted a 4.02 mph higher passing speed and a 60% lower likelihood of braking for pedestrians. Event context also shaped behavior: drivers reduced their speed by 2.52 mph when passing cyclists on the road and by 2.33 mph for groups of cyclists, compared to single cyclists in bike lanes. Across all risk categories, the participants expressed discomfort when sharing the road, preferring to pass bicyclists on sidewalks, although the ‘risk-avoidant’ group reported significant discomfort even in these scenarios. EI did not significantly predict driving outcomes, likely reflecting limited score variability rather than an absence of influence. These insights support sustainable urban mobility by informing risk-based driver training and safer infrastructure design. Improving driver–VRU interactions helps create safer streets for walking and cycling, an essential condition for reducing car dependence and advancing sustainable transportation systems.