Safe Cycling Brings Health and Happiness

Cycling is good for your heart, improves your balance and co-ordination, helps with weight control, enhances your general well-being and promotes mental health. Beyond the health benefits, it's an enjoyable way to get around.

Health experts believe that after just a few weeks of regular cycling, regardless of age, gender or initial physical fitness, the cyclist will be fitter and enjoy a greater sense of well-being.

Children Are Getting the Safety Message

Riding a bicycle is one of the joys of childhood. Parents must teach their children how to ride safely, ensure their child's bike and helmet are well maintained and fit properly — and most importantly, set a good example.

When cyclists are young and inexperienced, they tend to lose control or balance and fall off the bike. Mishaps occur when they ride out of a driveway without stopping, go through stop signs or red lights, and turn (often to the left) without checking.

Fatalities have gone down dramatically. In 1984, before the value of helmets was recognized, more than four times as many cyclists age 19 and under were killed; Transport Canada statistics for that age group show 88 fatalities in 1984, compared to 20 in 2004.

A March 2003 report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) found that hospitalizations due to bicycle-related injuries among children 5 to 19 years of age declined by 12.5 per cent over the five-year period 1997/98 to 2001/02.

Adult Cyclists - Room for Improvement

CIHI found relatively little change in the number of bicycle-related hospitalizations among adults during the five-year time period covered by its report.

More adults than children are killed while cycling. This is a dramatic change from two decades ago. In 2004, there were 56 bicycle fatalities. Of these, 36 per cent were children and teens (age 19 and under), and 64 per cent were adults (over 19). In 1984 there were 138 fatalities and the proportion was exactly the opposite - 64 per cent were children and teens, and 36 per cent were adults.

A 2002 Canada Safety Council survey found that over half of Canadian adults who ride bicycles don't wear a helmet. Increased use of helmets could save a significant number of lives.

About 90 per cent of cycling fatalities are caused by cyclists being struck by motor vehicles. Children usually ride within their own community. Adult cyclists are more likely to ride in heavy traffic . Alcohol use is another factor in adult cyclist fatalities. A study by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, covering 1987 to 1997, found that 25 per cent of cyclist fatalities had been drinking.

Active Transportation

If you have a choice, walk or ride a bicycle instead of driving. For the safety-conscious cyclist, the many benefits of "active transportation" outweigh the risks.

Use common sense, obey the rules of the road and always wear a helmet.

Updated: April 2008