The project “Older cyclists’ views on their own possibilities to improve their safety“ was conducted in 2020 by road safety consultant Magnus Andersson, Cajoma Consulting, Sweden.Of all categories of cyclists, older cyclists are most at risk of fatalities in the road traffic. During the period 2015-2019, 105 cyclists died in Sweden. Of these, 61 cyclists were over the age of 65, which corresponds to 58 per cent of the killed cyclists. During the period 2015-2019, 806 elderly people were injured cyclists seriously. Another 2,877 sustained moderate injuries while 3,507 were slightly injured. The main purpose of the project was to find out what senior cyclists (in the age group 65 and above) think about their own possibilities to improve their safety. Another purpose was to investigate why some older cyclists adopt safety measures while others do not to the same extent. The project was based on a literature review and 17 interviews with cyclists between 65 and 83 years of age. The project focused on three areas of central importance for the safety of older cyclists: helmet use, the bicycle and risk situations in traffic.

The study was funded by Skyltfonden at the Swedish Transport Administration.