Peer review stream Johnson Proceedings of the 2013 Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing & Education Conference 28 th – 30 th August, Brisbane, Queensland Too drunk to ride? Insights on cyclists’ behaviour and attitudes towards alcohol, drugs and cycling Johnson, M. a,b,c , Newstead S. c . and Biegler, P. d a Institute of Transport Studies, Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, b Amy Gillett Foundation, c Monash University Accident Research Centre, Monash Injury Research Centre, d Centre for Human Bioethics, School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies, Monash University Abstract The negative impacts of alcohol and recreational/illegal drugs on cyclist safety are well established. Like all road users, cyclists’ psychomotor and cognitive skills are impeded when intoxicated, however, little is known about attitudes and use of alcohol and drugs among cyclists in Australia. We conducted an in-depth study of cyclists who had crashed and presented to two hospitals in Melbourne, Victoria (n=158). In this analysis, we investigated the prevalence and level of intoxication among cyclists. We also examined attitudes towards cycling when intoxicated or after having consumed recreational/illegal drugs. Clinical tests for alcohol were conducted on 23 cyclists (22 serum levels, 1 breathalyser). None of the participants were tested for recreational/illicit drug use. Of those tested, the majority of cyclists recorded zero levels of alcohol (73.9%); while 3 riders recorded a level of 0.05 or higher (2 records were missing). Participants were asked whether alcohol use would negatively affect riding skills and what level of alcohol was acceptable to ride a bicycle. The majority of participants agreed that cycling riding skills would be negatively affected by both alcohol (97.4%) and recreational/illegal drug (89%) use. The majority of cyclists (95.4%) believed an acceptable alcohol level to ride a bike was either no alcohol (40.4%) or low alcohol (under 0.05: 52.2%). However, 9% reported that they would ride a bike home if impaired by alcohol. Results highlight the need for more data be collected on alcohol and drug use amongst cyclists and that road safety campaigns that address substance use may need to target all road users, including cyclists. Introduction The negative impacts of alcohol and drug use on cyclist safety, particularly in relation to injury severity, is well established (Kraus, Fife et al. 1987, Olkkonen and Honkanen 1990, Li and Baker 1994, Li, Baker et al. 1995, McCarthy and Gilbert 1996, Kurzethaler, Wambacher et al. 2003, Rosenkranz and Sheridan 2003, Cummings, Rivara et al. 2006, Crocker, Zad et al. 2010). The physiological impacts of alcohol and drugs, alteration of senses, slowed reflexes, impeded psychomotor and cognitive skills, are the same, regardless of vehicle type (Li, Baker et al. 1996, Kurzethaler, Wambacher et al. 2003, Rosenkranz and Sheridan 2003). Alcohol intoxication in cyclists who crash has been strongly associated with greater injury severity and longer duration of hospital stay (Spaite, Criss et al. 1995). Not surprisingly, crashes involving alcohol are more likely to occur at night, when alcohol use is more likely, and visibility and road user cognition are likely to be limited (Ryan 1967, Rowe, Rowe et al. 1995, Andersson and Bunketorp 2002, Kurzethaler, Wambacher et al. 2003). For cyclists, the greater importance of balance and their physical vulnerability contribute to an increased risk of serious injury, that is exacerbated by alcohol and drug use (Olkkonen and Honkanen 1990). The reported rates of alcohol and drug use among cyclists from crash data are varied. A report of over 10,000 cyclist crashes reported fewer than 2 percent of cyclists and drivers had used alcohol with drug use below 1 percent (Ryan 1967). While in Brazil, alcohol use was reported by 7.5 percent of commuter cyclists (Bacchieri, Barros et al. 2010). The use of drugs while cycling has been reported to be more likely amongst intoxicated bike riders (Andersson and Bunketorp 2002, Rosenkranz and Sheridan 2003).