When children ride bicycles in and near traffic, they engage in a complicated task of combining motor skills and cognitive skills. In addition to developing bicycle-handling skills, bicycle safety education programs teach children how to ride safely in and near traffic. However, to what extent are bicycle education programs effective in improving safe, bicycle-riding behaviour and reducing injuries? The purpose of this literature review is two-fold. First, this report describes the nature of children and adolescents’ bicycle injuries in addition to understanding the types of programs that exist and their effectiveness. Second, this report explores the psychological domains related to riding a bicycle in childhood and adolescence such as motor skill development, cognitive development, brain development, and risk-taking and social influences. Understanding how each of these interacts with children’s abilities to learn and ride a bicycle safely in traffic allows researchers and safety practitioners to design more effective bicycle education programs to teach children and adolescents how to safely negotiate traffic as bicyclists. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting