Covid lockdowns spurred a new wave of cycling enthusiasm in Sydney, and with it, a spike in bike-related injuries, new data shows, but a public health expert says Australians “shouldn’t view cycling as a dangerous thing”.
Associate Prof Melody Ding of the University of Sydney’s school of public health said that “a combination of things” contributed to the 78% increase in bike-related injuries in New South Wales compared to 2020.
Ding said that the pandemic created “opportunities” for a cycling surge. “Now people are understanding that cycling is not only a sustainable, but also infectious disease friendly way of commuting.”
“In lockdown, people have also had time to reevaluate their lifestyle and their health,” she said. “Plus, there was less traffic on the roads.”
“So, there are more people cycling than usual. And there are new types of people that are cycling.”
Ding said before the pandemic, the cycling demographic was mostly “serious cyclists who ride on a daily commute,” and was “disproportionate towards people with a higher economic status”.
“Not every suburb has that infrastructure for cycling,” Ding said. With the 5km radius lockdown restriction, Ding expects the socio-economic demographic of cyclists has not drastically changed.
However, with lockdown creating a more bike-friendly climate, Ding said “we especially saw more young children get on bikes”.
“And because they are just learning, they are more prone to injuring themselves.”
NSW Health said from 26 June, when Sydney’s lockdown began, to 14 October, bicycle related injuries increased by 78% compared to the same period last year. Over that period, 173 children and adolescents were admitted to the Children’s hospital at Westmead and Sydney Children’s hospital, Randwick – compared with 97 during the same period of 2020.
Trauma surgeon Susan Adams said children need to take care while cycling.
“Most importantly though, they need to make sure they are wearing a helmet,” she said. “This simple measure can be the difference between a great day out and one ending in tragedy.”
Bastien Wallace of Bicycle NSW told Guardian Australia that a helmet is “very good protection if you fall over,” with research finding that a helmet reduces the risk of head injury by 60 to 90%.
“But if you’re being hit by a car, it’s not enough,” Wallace said.
She urged new cyclists to seek out safe riding resources, and to practise with a local cyclist group.
“That helps build confidence, find new routes away from roads, and learn from more experienced riders.”
Ding said the solution extends beyond individual safety precautions.
“Australia is falling behind other countries with strong cycling cultures.”
“We need to think about wanting a sustainable way of moving people around,” she said. “And we need to build a culture that is tolerant of bike riding to do that, including more awareness and education for drivers on the road.”
During Sydney’s lockdown, as “the footpath became a contested place,” Wallace said she saw a shift in that culture.
“Suddenly, people had time for bike riding – and that’s a good thing.”
Bicycle NSW members reported waiting lists of up to six weeks for bicycle servicing. “More people are bringing their bikes out of their shed that haven’t in ages,” Wallace said.
“You know more people are wanting to cycle when the bike shops run out of bikes.”
Fabian Caley, workshop manager at Glow Worm Electric Bikes in Sydney’s inner-west, said that at the start of lockdown, their showroom had to be closed and staff numbers reduced.
“It was really difficult,” he said. “We’d sell maybe one bike a week.”
Almost two months into lockdown, however, Caley said “we had customers calling up again”.
“We had people coming in to buy bikes on the spot, which is unusual for us”.
Since the end of lockdown, he has seen numbers of sales “continue to go up and up,” especially families purchasing cargo bikes.
Ding said seeing the increasing numbers of children on bikes is “really important”.
She explained that cycling is “the kind of physical activity that both gets you places, but is intense enough to be good for your cardiovascular fitness, metabolic system, and mental health”.
“In Sydney traffic, it can help you get to places faster, with zero carbon emission on the way.”
“When we think about building a cycling culture, children are the best place to start. And from Covid, we have a good momentum,” she said. “We need to keep the numbers up when our lives return to normal, and make sure these new cyclists keep on cycling.”
