Abstract

BackgroundCycle accidents are a common cause of physical injury in children and adolescents. Education is one strategy to reduce cycle-related injuries. In the UK, some children undertake National Cycle Proficiency Scheme [NCPS] training (now known as Bikeability) in their final years of primary school. It aims to promote cycling and safe cycling behaviours but there has been little scientific evaluation of its effectiveness.MethodsThe sample (n = 5415) were participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children who reported whether or not they had received NCPS training. Outcomes were self-reported at 14 and 16 years: cycling to school, ownership of cycle helmet, use of cycle helmet and high-visibility clothing on last cycle, and involvement in a cycle accident. An additional outcome, hospital admittance due to a cycle accident from 11 to 16 years, was also included for a subsample (n = 2222) who have been linked to Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data.ResultsApproximately 40 % of the sample had received NCPS training. Trained children were more likely to cycle to school and to own a cycle helmet at both 14 and 16 years, to have worn a helmet on their last cycle at age 14, and to have worn high-visibility clothing at age 16, than those who had not attended a course. NCPS training was not associated with self-reported involvement in a cycle accident, and only six of those with HES data had been admitted to hospital due to a cycle accident. Irrespective of training, results indicate very low use of high-visibility clothing, very few girls cycling as part of their school commute, and less than half of helmet owners wearing one on their last cycle.ConclusionsOur results suggest cycle training courses for children can have benefits that persist into adolescence. However, the low use of cycle helmets, very low use of high-visibility clothing, and low levels of cycling to school for girls, indicate the further potential for interventions to encourage cycling, and safe cycling behaviours, in young people.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3138-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

  • Cycle accidents are a common cause of physical injury in children and adolescents

  • Cycling behaviour changed with age: cycling in the past week was more common at 14 than 16 years, but the length of the last cycle increased with age

  • Girls were less likely to have cycled in the past week than boys, and were more likely to have cycled a short distance on their last ride

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Summary

Introduction

Cycle accidents are a common cause of physical injury in children and adolescents. In the UK, some children undertake National Cycle Proficiency Scheme [NCPS] training ( known as Bikeability) in their final years of primary school. It aims to promote cycling and safe cycling behaviours but there has been little scientific evaluation of its effectiveness. Cycle-related injuries are one of the most common causes of physical injury in children. In the UK, almost 2000 child cyclists were injured in road traffic accidents in 2013, and 6 were killed [5] These figures only include incidents reported to the police, and do not include those which occur away from the road; whilst the number of deaths is accurate, the true number of injuries is thought to be two to three times higher [5]. Children aged 10–15 years are at greater risk of having a cycling accident than any age group other than adults aged over 60 years [5]

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