Cycling, driving, and injuries

Abstract

Broadening the range of people who cycleIn the 1960s, Dutch cities were increasingly car-focussed. Cycle trip share in Amsterdam fell from 80% in 1950s to 20% in the 1970s (van der Zee, 2015. Child traffic deaths were the catalyst to reduce car use and promote cycling (Wardlaw, 2014). Road travel deaths peaked in 1971 at 3,300, of whom more than 400 were children (van der Zee, 2015). Campaigners pioneered street closure days to allow children to play in the streets. Eventually, the 'woonerf' [homezone] was developed, followed by car-free Sundays. Nowadays, there are extensive networks of segregated cycle paths; more than a quarter of trips in the Netherlands are cycled, and almost two-fifths of trips in Amsterdam. However, in other countries, such as New Zealand, opposition to cycle lanes can be very vocal, particularly from local businesses (Field et al., 2018). We know that cyclists, like pedestrians, visit local businesses more frequently and, over a period of time, spend more money locally than drivers do (Mindell, 2015). A recent study has shown that increased cycling is associated with new businesses opening (Klemmer et al., 2018).