title: Accident rates amongst regular bicycle riders in Tasmania, Australia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterise the demographics, cycling habits and accident rates of adult cyclists in Tasmania.
  
  
  METHODS
  Volunteers ≥18 years of age who had cycled at least once/week over the previous month provided information on demographics; cycling experience; bicycles owned; hours/km/trips cycled per week; cycling purpose; protective equipment used; and major (required third-party medical treatment or resulted ≥1 day off work) or minor (interfered with individuals' regular daily activities and/or caused financial costs) accidents while cycling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 8-months, 136 cyclists (70.6% male) completed the telephone survey. Mean (standard deviation) age was 45.4 (12.1) years with 17.1 (11.4) years of cycling experience. In the week prior to interview, cyclists averaged 6.6 trips/week (totalling 105.7km or 5.0h). The most common reason for cycling was commuting/transport (34% of trips), followed by training/health/fitness (28%). The incidence of major and minor cycling accidents was 1.6 (95% CI 1.1-2.0) and 3.7 (2.3-5.0) per 100,000km, respectively. Male sex was associated with a significantly lower minor accident risk (incidence rate ratio=0.34, p=0.01). Mountain biking was associated with a significantly higher risk of minor accident compared with road or racing, touring, and city or commuting biking (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physical activity of regular cyclists' exceeds the level recommended for maintenance of health and wellbeing; cyclists also contributed substantially to the local economy. Accident rates are higher in this sample than previously reported in Tasmania and internationally. Mountain biking was associated with higher risks of both major and minor accidents compared to road/racing bike riding.
authors.affiliation: Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart 7000, TAS, Australia. Electronic address: andrew.palmer@utas.edu.au.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.affiliation: Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart 7000, TAS, Australia.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Si
authors.affiliation: Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart 7000, TAS, Australia.
authors.forename: Jared M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.affiliation: Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart 7000, TAS, Australia.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saul
authors.affiliation: Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart 7000, TAS, Australia.
authors.forename: Beverley A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Curry
authors.affiliation: Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart 7000, TAS, Australia.
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Otahal
authors.affiliation: Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart 7000, TAS, Australia.
authors.forename: Peta L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Hitchens
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001642:Bicycling / Q000293:injuries* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013648:Tasmania / Q000453:epidemiology; D014186:Transportation; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Accidents; Australia; Bicycle; Cycling; Habits; Risks