Introduction

The increasing popularity of car travel over the last few decades has had major consequences for the lives of individuals, communities, society, and the environment. Cars have brought enormous freedom and opportunities for independence to many people, but the costs have been significant, and are disproportionately borne by the most disadvantaged groups in society. Aside from traffic deaths and injuries cars produce many other negative effects, such as noise and air pollution, and the social impacts of busy roads, such as community severance and social exclusion. Children's lives are now led very differently from the way they were a generation ago, with anxious parents shielding their children from what are perceived as the major hazards of dangerous roads and 'stranger danger'.1 Although cyclists often fear for their lives as they ride through traffic, the major health risks on the roads are in fact carried by sedentary drivers, who are more likely to die as a result of their particular lifestyle choice than any other group.

Levels of physical activity within the population are declining, and sedentary lifestyle is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease. Since Morris found that bus drivers suffer more heart attacks than bus conductors.2 the evidence has been mounting for the health benefits of physical activity; these are greatest when it is performed regularly over a lifetime. Regular cycling to work is an effective way of incorporating this exercise into daily routines; it can also have the beneficial effect of reducing traffic, a major disincentive to cycling, thus encouraging more people to use their bicycles for all sorts of travel.

This report has concentrated primarily on cycling because it is more likely to be an appropriate mode of transport for the kinds and lengths of journeys under consideration,3 but walking can be equally beneficial to health,4 and many of the same recommendations apply.

Top | Home | Previous | Next