Australia's cycling safety statistics

Using New South Wales as an example, over 8 million people live there and account for 31.98% of Australia's total population. However, 25.86% of Australia's road cyclist deaths happen in NSW, which is 19.15% less than its population represents. Conversely, areas like the Northern Territories and South Australia account for much higher fatality levels than their populations represent.

In terms of when are the most dangerous times to cycle on the roads, Mondays and Wednesdays appear to be the worst, while weekends have lower incident levels. 

The data suggests Sunday rides are the safest

The commuter rush hours are the most dangerous times for cyclists, with the afternoon period being particularly bad and 5pm being the peak time for road cycling fatalities. These two three-hour periods account for 44% of all cycling road fatalities.

Incidents peak during work rush hours, suggesting those who commute to work by bike could be more at risk.

There also appears to be a seasonal element regarding increases and decreases in cycling fatalities. Increases correspond to the Australian summertime, when presumably more people go out on their bikes due to the better and warmer weather, while the lowest number of cycling fatalities correspond to our winter months. So while we expected to see more cyclists on the road around the July period, this doesn't appear to happen.

Speed is an obvious factor in fatal road incidents, but it's the 60km/h speed limit roads where the most cyclist’s lives are claimed. This may well be due to 60km/h being the speed limit for most primary artery roads across Australia, where cyclists are more likely to share the roads with all types of cars, commercial vehicles and public transport, particularly during commuter rush hours. Trucks and buses were involved in 17% of cyclist road fatalities, compared to 15% of all road fatalities.

We also see the average age of cyclist road fatalities gets considerably younger on roads with speed limits of 60 to 75km/h. This might suggest more younger cyclists are using these heavy arterial roads more frequently, perhaps for commuting to and from school or work. 

Regional Differences

Incidences of cycling fatalities are not consistent throughout the country, and there are some stark differences between the states and territories. The following graphic highlights some of the biggest differences by location:

Nationally, the average age of cyclist road fatalities is 37.9 years old. However, Western Australia and the Northern Territories have much younger average ages of cyclist deaths on the roads at 29 and 30.5 years old respectively. Conversely, in Tasmania and South Australia the average ages are 45 and 44 years old - around 50% older than in WA and the NT. 

In terms of the male:female split, females have accounted for 13.78% of all road cyclist fatalities over the last 30 years but proportionally those numbers are much higher in the Northern Territories (27.27%), the ACT (25%) and Tasmania (21.62%).

Riskiest times for children to be cycling on the road

The following chart looks at incidences of cycling road fatalities for different age groups and by time of day, to see if any trends show when particular age groups are most at risk.

Unlike other age groups, Seniors and Baby Boomers buck the trend for most fatalities occurring during the afternoon rush hour, suggesting these groups of riders more frequently road ride during morning hours. 

Millennials and Generations X&Y largely follow the overall trend, which could give strength to the idea they represent a significant proportion of cycling commuters. 

The data indicates that fatal incidents for children of primary and secondary school ages are heavily skewed towards the peak evening rush hour, suggesting this is a much more dangerous time for them to be on the road. There tend to be fewer of these incidents on the weekends for primary school ages and fewer on Sundays for senior school ages, though incidences are high on Saturdays for 12-17 year olds. 

Unlike other age groups road fatalities for Baby Boomers peak on Sundays.

What can we learn from these findings?

Some people cycle for fun, some for fitness and others use a bike as their preferred option to travel from point A to point B. No two people are the same, and there's no such thing as a typical cyclist. However, whatever your reason for riding there is probably some information you can take from this data that fits with your riding patterns. 

For example, if you use a bike to commute to work, be aware that the rush hours are the riskiest times to ride on the road so perhaps consider alternative routes that might avoid busy artery roads.

For parents, be aware that school children appear most at risk during the afternoon rush hours and perhaps help reinforce to them the heightened dangers with riding on the road during those times.

And if you're a resident of the Northern Territory be aware that this appears to be Australia's most dangerous region for riding a bike on the road, so be mindful of other traffic and take the best precautions to keep yourself and others safe on the road.

It can be easy for cyclists to get frustrated when on the road. From other road users passing too close, to close shaves with car doors, to that driver who 'just didn't see you', the reality of sharing roads with other traffic is that sometimes cyclists are put in harms way. And while incidents like these can leave cyclists with steam coming out of their ears, there are plenty of other times when the fault lies with the rider.

When you start reading the statistics of cycling fatalities on the road, especially when you see the young ages of some of those losing their lives, feelings of frustration quickly turn to dismay. We all share the roads and we all have a shared responsibility towards making them as safe as possible for everyone. So as a group let's do the simple things right, like wearing helmets, giving a bit of space and respect to each other, and collectively obeying the laws of the road. Because surely anything we can do that minimises the chances of more people joining this group of statistics is worthwhile. 

For those who could do with a refresher, The Amy Gillett Foundation and the Global Cycling Network and have prepared some useful video guides to help people remember some basic safety principles.

Methodology

The data used to compile this article and the included charts comes from the Australian Road Deaths Database, provided by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development. Population data was taken from the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Australian Demographic Statistics, September Quarter 2018.