Safety of child bicyclists

Children walk and travel by bicycle to a lesser extent than previously. Physical activities are generally positive from a health perspective and life quality perspective. The design of the traffic environment and the regulation of traffic can support safe and independent freedom of movement for children.
Two sources were used to explore safety problems for cycling children: school questionnaires and accident statistics. A meta-analysis based on previously conducted questionnaires addressed to school children on the subject of safety as vulnerable road users in the urban environment revealed that children perceived poor visibility, intensive motor traffic and high vehicle speed as the dominant factors for a dangerous traffic environment. The factors that were found to be most problematic for children according to the accident statistics compared with older age groups were also mentioned by the children as dangerous in the traffic environment. The result is a description of safety problems based on accident statistics for children bicyclists linked to children’s own opinions on characteristics and safety problems as bicyclists.