Australia: Do Bicycle Lanes Reduce Injuries?
Among all consumer products in Queensland, bicycles are associated with the most injuries in children. There are approximately 6,000 bicycle-related emergency department injuries and 10 deaths each year in Queensland. Three-quarters of these are in children under the age of 15 years.
Australian Law requires helmets for all cyclists. Since compliance is good, injury researchers in Australia are turning to other strategies to reduce bicycle injuries in children.
One strategy involves bike paths. Three-quarters of bicycle crashes that result in injury do not involve another vehicle or object of any kind. In fact, only 6% of crashes involve other vehicles. While some cyclists believe they are safer on a bicycle path, this belief may be misleading. Some studies in Australia show that the crash rates are 2-10 times higher on cycle paths. This may have to do with several factors, including:
- Poor maintenance of path surfaces,
- Intersections of paths and roadways,
- Inadequate lighting on pathways, and
- Poor visibility around path corners and turns.
Many bike paths in Queensland cross over streets, driveways and other foot or traffic paths. Some paths have a mix of walkers and cyclists moving in opposite directions. Researchers argue that bicycle paths must be completely separated from traffic and pedestrians.
One of the reasons that bicycle paths should not cross other lanes of traffic is that young children have limited peripheral vision. This keeps young children from effectively judging the speed or distance of a vehicle or person approaching from the side. Researchers recommend that children be taught that bicycles are vehicles, and they should follow the rules of the road that cars follow. Children should be supervised until they fully understand traffic laws, and be instructed to walk their bikes across bike-path traffic intersections.
Size is important too. The Queensland researchers noted that parents put their children at a disadvantage when they buy bicycles that the children can “grow into.” Bicycles that are too large are hard for children to control, and can lead to injury.
Scott, D. Bicycle injury in Queensland. From the Injury Bulletin, Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit. Issue 86 April 2005.
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