This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

trusted source

proofread

Women want to ride a bike without fear of injury and harassment

woman on bike
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Despite the health and environmental benefits of getting on a bike, in Melbourne, twice as many men ride bikes as women. A new study by Monash University has uncovered both why this is the case, and how it can be reversed.

The study found that women experience extra barriers and concerns about riding a bike, on top of those also reported by men, including a fear of falling off their bike and into , concerns about their in unsafe environments, and being made to feel inadequate as a cyclist.

The study, published in Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behavior led by Dr. Lauren Pearson and Associate Professor Ben Beck, Head of Sustainable Mobility & Safety Research at Monash University's School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, surveyed more than 700 Melburnians, and interviewed a further 40, to deep dive on what factors prevent, and what encourages, people to ride a bike.

The study reveals that one of the main barriers to people getting on a bike is a lack of supportive infrastructure, such as bike paths or protected lanes, that can protect them from motor vehicle traffic.

Dr. Pearson said that many cities globally were trying to increase cycling participation rates. "It's not just about how many people are riding a bike, but who they are. Understanding of groups with traditionally lower participation in bike riding, including women, is essential for creating equitable access to ," she said.

Associate Professor Beck said there was substantial potential to improve low rates of bike riding participation in Australian women. "We have this huge opportunity to advance equitable participation in bike riding and enable people to use physically active and healthy modes of transport as part of their everyday activities," he said.

"But at the moment, our environments and infrastructure aren't supportive of underrepresented groups in bike riding, such as women. This research really highlights how Australia can catch up to many other cities around the world and ensure that we have as many women riding as men."

This study highlighted that women needed protected and paths to be able make more trips by bike. Women reported concerns about falling from their bike and into incoming traffic, describing needing "space to fall," a requirement not met by narrow on-road painted lanes which make up the 93% of cycling infrastructure across Melbourne.

"Including and empowering women to drive the conversation about what they need to be able to ride a bike, and increasing the number of women designing and planning bike riding environments is crucial to enabling equitable bike riding and ensuring that as we move to more sustainable and healthy modes of transport, women aren't left behind," Dr. Pearson said.

The survey revealed:

  • More than 60% of women and almost 45% of men did not want to ride on roads because of motor vehicle traffic
  • More women (59%) than men (43%) expressed concern about being injured through collision with a motor vehicle
  • 55% of women and 44% of men expressed concern about from motor vehicle drivers

More information: Lauren Pearson et al, What a girl wants: A mixed-methods study of gender differences in the barriers to and enablers of riding a bike in Australia, Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2023.03.010

Provided by Monash University

Citation: Women want to ride a bike without fear of injury and harassment (2023, March 27) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2023-03-women-bike-injury.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Gear up (helmets included) for a safe bike season

9 shares

Feedback to editors