This paper presents a model that describes the effect of the street environment on the safety of cycling children. It can be used in connection with urban traffic planning to improve road safety. It can also be used to estimate if it is worthwhile building cycle tracks. The study, from which the model was developed, was based on surveys performed between 1985 and 1987 in 40 schools at seven localities in Sweden, three in Finland, and one in Norway. A total of about 14,000 school children of various ages supplied details of: (1) where they cycled; (2) traffic accidents in which they had been involved; (3) the locations that they considered dangerous. Children drew on a map the routes where they had cycled on the previous day. Motor vehicle traffic flows were estimated from municipal traffic censuses. Simple measures were used to calculate the risks of collisions with motor vehicles for cycling school children, and the number of collisions with motor vehicles per 100,000km cycled. The model was developed to determine the need to take steps to improve the safety of children cycling in traffic, and to suggest suitable measures. The primary aim was to reduce high risks for the most serious types of accident. Green, yellow, and red standards were defined for stretches of roads with low, moderate, and high collision risks. Several characteristics of low risk stretches were identified, including gentle gradients, segregated motor traffic, and lower motor vehicle speeds.
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