An Implementation of A Cycling Safety Education Program Among School Children Without Previous Formal Cycling Training: A Case Study in Serbia
Abstract Background: The promotion of cycling as a healthy and socio-economically acceptable way of moving has led to a significant increase in these road users. Moreover, the indisputable fact is that children cyclists belong to the group of the vulnerable road users. All this clearly indicates that cycling education programs for children are the only correct approach. The primary goal of the presented research are inception and implementation of a cycling safety education program for school-age children without formal cycling knowledge and skills. Methods: Students from the 4th grade (9 and 10 years old) from nine randomly schools on the territory of the Republic of Serbia participated in a survey. In order to measure and evaluate the knowledge and skills, the students were put through testing before and after the cycling safety education program. Data were analysed using repeated multivariate analysis of variance test.Results: Comparing the intervention group and the control group before and after the training program implementation, children’s total cycling knowledge increased in the intervention group. The cycling education program improved children's knowledge of road signs, age requirements, and risky behaviours. The results show that the cycling education program achieved significant improvements in all tested children's cycling skills. However, it was noticed that there was no significant intervention effect between control and intervention group in terms of the bicycle checking before riding.Conclusions: The current research, as a pilot study, provides evidence that cycling education programs might be effective in improving cycling-related knowledge and cycling skills among children. Future efforts should be directed towards promotion and implementation of cycling safety education programs in elementary schools where there is no formal cycling training for children on traffic safety, as well as towards monitoring of long-term effects of cycling training.