Gardening is riskier than cycling!Researchers from the Central Queensland University in Rockhampton, Australia surv read more ...  The promotion of cycle helmets portrays cycling as an especially risky activity, but examination of comparative risk data reveals otherwise. It transpires that cycling is in fact one of the safest ways to spend one's time. As well as being safer than the obvious high-risk sports such as climbing, it is also much safer than more 'ordinary' sports such as football, swimming or fishing and, indeed, safer than general 'living' (the net outcome of all causes of death). The data below compare cycling with other activities based on different indicators. Risk relative to cycling based on fatality rates per participant (UK)
Figures relate to 1986 and are derived from OPAS Monitors from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, UK. Risk by time (US)
Data from Failure Analysis Associates, Inc (now Exponent Inc), Design News, 10 April 1993. Deaths per year (GB)
These figures take no account of population at risk, but if exposure is taken into account, the risk of being killed through cycling is very small compared with most of the other activities cited. Risk per lifetime (US)
Source: National Geographic, August 2006. These statistics show the relative risk to society; no account is taken of exposure. Risk by distance and age (NL)
The statistics for motorists exclude driving on motorways, where risk is very much less than on ordinary roads, for there is no comparable factor for cycling. The average total risk is biased against cyclists because of the inclusion of two age groups (under 18 years) that do not exist in motorists; two groups, moreover, who have neither the caution nor experience of their elders. Source: Dekoster & Schollaert, 1999 Risk in past 30 daysResearchers polled 5,238 subjects by telephone, simply asking if they'd done any of a predetermined set of activities in the past 30 days. Those who answered "yes" for a given activity were asked further questions about it, including whether they were injured "severely enough that you went for medical care or missed one-half day or more of work, housework, or school." Percentage injured results were: (Powell, 1998)
The relative risk between gardening and cycling has been examined in another study. 1,337 people were surveyed for a report on sport and recreation injuries. One in six respondents had required medical treatment in this period, with 5% of gardeners having suffered injury warranting attention compared with 3.9% of cyclists. (CenQueensUniv, 2003) Other sources
ReferencesCenQueensUniv, 2003 Study by Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia. Reported January 2003. Dekoster & Schollaert, 1999 Dekoster J, Schollaert U, 1999. Cycling: the way ahead for towns and cities. European Commission ISBN 92-828-5724-7. Powell, 1998 Powell KE, 1998. Injury rates from walking, gardening, weightlifting, outdoor bicycling and aerobics. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise 1998;30:1246-1249. Rahimi et al, 2005 Rahimi SY, Singh H, Yeh DJ, Shaver EG, Flannery AM, Lee MR, 2005. Golf-associated head injury in the pediatric population: a common sports injury. J Neurosurg 2005 Mar;102(2 Suppl):163-6. See also
The Physical Activity and Population Health BJSM Blog Series By Sonia Cheng @soniawmcheng The Tour de France. Lycra. Fending off swooping magpies during the Australian springtime. Cycling is perhaps the most iconic type of physical activity of them all, and as a mode of transport, has been proposed as a potential solution to the global pandemic of physical inactivity. Yet detractors argue that cycling comes with additional costs and safety concerns, and requires an overhaul of existing infrastructure in order to be a safe and accessible means of transport for the general population. How does cycling weigh up as a strategy to increase incidental physical activity? The headwind vs the tailwind: What are the health benefits and what are the risks? Active commuting via bicycle is not very common in countries such as Australia or the UK, where driving remains the dominant form of transportation. In 2011, cycling represented 1% and 3% respectively of the population’s method of travelling to work1,2. Nevertheless, large population-based studies have shown that cycling as a mode of transport is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality, and may be a more beneficial form of commuting than walking3,4. Getting on a bicycle and leaving the car at home has a positive societal impact too, helping to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce traffic congestion. Being a cycling commuter does pose some potential hazards, however. The risk of being involved in a traffic accident may increase, particularly in city centres and areas lacking supporting infrastructure – and crashes and collisions could result in injury or fatality. Cycling commuters may also be at risk of inhaling more air pollutants due to the increased breathing rates associated with physical activity. A small number of observational studies suggest that exposure to in-traffic air pollution may lead to airway inflammation and decrements in lung function in both healthy adults and those with existing lung conditions5. When the benefits and risks are weighed up directly, the estimated health benefits of cycling are substantially larger than the health risks. One study showed that if 500,000 people in the Netherlands swapped their car for a bicycle for short trips on a daily basis, 3-14 months of life would be gained as a result of increased physical activity levels, compared to the smaller harmful effects of inhaled air pollution (0.8-40 days lost) and increase in traffic accidents (5-9 days lost)5. Copenhagen: The world’s best city for cyclists When Copenhageners own five times more bicycles than cars and Crown Princess Mary herself takes the kids to school in a cargo bike, you know the title of ‘world’s best city for cyclists’ is well-deserved. Active commuting is part of the established culture in Copenhagen and can be attributed to the favourable cycling conditions in the city: dense urban proximities requiring short distances to travel, flat terrain, and an extensive and well-designed system of cycle tracks that are clearly separated from the roads by a curb. A recent Danish report6on cycle related injuries and prevented morbidity/mortality revealed some impressive statistics:
A two-wheeled ride off into the sunset Cities like Copenhagen illustrate just how much can be done to increase active commuting in the general population, and we can certainly learn from their strategies to improve the safety of cycling commuters: segregated cycle lanes, bicycle hire and purchase schemes, secure parking, facilities for bicycles on public transport, to name a few. ‘The bicycle is a valuable means of transport in its own right and should be treated as such’, declares the Cycling Embassy of Denmark. And if governments and policymakers can make cycling safe, convenient and accessible – then people will ride. *** Sonia Cheng @soniawmcheng graduated from The University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Applied Sciences (Physiotherapy) (Honours Class I) in 2014. Sonia is currently employed as a physiotherapist with Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Westmead Hospital in Sydney. We invite you to share and support the Physical Activity and Population Health BJSM Blog Series. Join the conversation on ‘how change happens’ at #PAblogBJSM and #brightspotsBJSM. We welcome guest blogger contributions. If you have any ideas please email . References
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