In order to study which factors are important in children's cycling an experiment with 144 children between the ages of 5 and 13 was carried out in which skills in manoeuvring, accelerating and braking were tested. The tests, conducted at nine separate stations, were intended to measure behaviour which occurs in traffic situations. Each subject was interviewed about his cycling habits, attitudes and any accident he may have had. The results showed that the age of the children was the most important factor in determining their cycling ability. The frequency of cycling and the design of bicycles were highly important as well. The interviews showed that most of the children started to cycle at the age of 4 to 5 and that they used their bicycles daily. Despite this, it was only the 13-year-olds who could manage all of the tests well. The children under age 8 performed very poorly in most of the tests. The children between the ages of 8 and 12 were significantly better, especially those who cycled most, and almost all of the 13-year-olds could manoeuvre a bicycle acceptably.
Abstract