Two wheels better than four
By: Julie Hatfield 'Weekend Australian' story 8 November 2008.
Riding to work can be safer than you think and there are lots of reasons to do it.
Fancy cutting your stress levels, getting fit and saving on fuel costs all at the same time?
Julie Hatfield believes the more people ride, the more motorists will become aware of cyclists and the safer it will be.
Then maybe it's time to discover the pleasure of riding a bike and join the 1.68 million-plus Australians who cycle to work.
Local and international research presented at a cycling safety seminar in Sydney in September has revealed that as cycling participation increases, a cyclist is far less likely to have a collision with a motor vehicle or suffer injury or death. The reduction in accidents is not just because there are fewer cars on the road, but also because motorists seem to change their behaviour and drive more safely when they see more cyclists.
Studies in many countries have shown the number of motorists colliding with walkers or cyclists doesn't increase proportionally with the number of people walking or riding. For example, a community that doubles its cycling numbers would expect a one-third drop in the per-cyclist frequency of a collision with a motor vehicle.
Read the whole story from The Australian here:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24613432-5010800,00.html
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