Article: Bike riders' daily dice with death as people cycling to work ...

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Bike riders' daily dice with death as people cycling to work in Melbourne skyrockets

Bike riders' daily dice with death as people cycling to work in Melbourne skyrockets

    * Georgie Pilcher
    * From: Herald Sun

MANY more people are being injured as increasing numbers join the thousands cycling to work each day.

The number of office workers using pushbike power to commute almost doubled in the five years to 2006 and jumped by 15 per cent to May this year alone.

Melbourne's love affair with bikes has led to hundreds of cyclists each year being admitted to hospital after collisions with cars, trucks, other cyclists and pedestrians.

The annual bike count by Bicycle Victoria in May found Flinders and Swanston streets intersection was the busiest with 1438 riders passing through from 7-9am.

The eastern suburbs have reported the biggest cycling growth while numbers in the west and bay suburbs have dropped.

The survey also found riders commuting on the north bank of the Yarra River have jumped by 54 per cent, suggesting more people cycle from the city fringes.

Research by the Monash University Accident Research Centre reveals 732 cyclists were admitted to hospital in 2007 compared with 231 in 1999.

Collisions with cars have continued to be the main cause of injury, but injuries from cyclists hitting other cyclists have increased.

Fractured bones, open wounds, head injuries, dislocation, sprains and strains are the most common injuries with internal injuries and spinal cord damage the least common.

The head, shoulders, upper arms, elbows and forearms were the most common sites of injury.

The most recent Transport Demand Information Atlas for Victoria also revealed the number of workers cycling from home to the CBD, Carlton, Docklands and Southbank area nearly doubled from 4137 in 2001 to 7169 cyclists in 2006.

Journeys to work by public transport also increased.

Bike riding victim Chris Lockwood, 36, broke both his arms when he swerved to avoid a truck four weeks ago.

Mr Lockwood, of Northcote, had been riding to work for 10 years and said he tried to avoid roads that were becoming too crowded.

"Over the years the roads are generally becoming more busy," he said.

"What we called peak hour 20 years ago and peak hour now are different things."

Bicycle Victoria spokesman Gary Brennan said the number of cyclists injured was still low compared with the numbers taking it up.