Sustainably breaking the cycle: How closely are countries' development and welfare indicators related to their cycling safety outcomes?

Abstract

While urban cycling is gaining ground worldwide as an active and sustainable mode of transport, various safety-related risks continue to threaten cyclists. In this regard, some studies suggest that cycling risk-related outcomes could be closely linked to development indicators beyond cycling infrastructure, including health, income, and welfare indices. This study aimed to analyze the relationships between different country-level development indicators (e.g., income level, life expectancy, internet access, healthcare coverage, and national health expenditure) and cyclists' behavioral and safety-related outcomes in 19 countries with diverse socio-economic backgrounds. The findings of this multinational study indicate that country-level development indicators are significantly and consistently related to both cycling safety behaviors and crash records, with the situation being more pronounced in developing (LMIC) countries. Overall, these differences highlight (although not linearly) the inequity and the high vulnerability faced by cyclists in countries with low or medium levels of economic development and point to the need for targeted interventions in areas such as information access, healthcare, and road safety training. Such measures could support the promotion of cycling and other active transport modes from a user-centered perspective. All in all, this may help multidimensionally enhance the promotion of the bicycle as a sustainable means of transport, fostering increased safety and equity among countries.