Study relating to road safety effectiveness of bicycles with two infant seats

Abstract

Accidents caused by failing to observe safety at intersections make up a large portion of bicycle traffic accidents. As such, practical road safety education is compulsory for children. The present study investigated the application of brakes by parent cyclists in accordance with a principle of verbal communication (i.e., verbally communicating their ongoing process of checking and decision making), and the road safety outcomes on children achieved by means of parent child communication while riding on bicycles with two infant seats. Applying the principle of verbal communication was seen to raise the parent cyclists’ awareness of checking for safety, and there was a greater incidence of applying the brakes at intersections as a safety measure. Further, the children displayed a range of responses to their parents’ communications, and responded actively when prompted by their parents checking for safety and anticipating dangers and surrounding physical objects. This was seen to have implications for the children’s road safety education.