1 Driver Behaviour Towards Cyclists on Australian Roads During Covid-19: A Case Study

While crash statistics generally improved across most road users globally during the COVID-19 pandemic, this was not the case for Australian cyclists who saw a 29% increase in road fatalities between 2017-19 to 2020. Given the same time period saw far fewer cars on the Australian road due to COVID-19 restrictions, reasons for this unexpected increase in cyclist deaths are explored. While there is some evidence for an increase in inexperienced cyclists on the roads during COVID-19 that many have contributed to increased fatalities, the nature of these incidents also implicates the observed rise in risky and aggressive driving on Australian roads during COVID-19. Reasons for why this increase in cyclist fatalities wasn't universally seen elsewhere during the pandemic are also discussed, including pre-existing negative attitudes towards cyclists and the recent introduction of minimum safe passing distance laws on Australian roads, as well as possible associations with anti-lockdown attitudes and beliefs during COVID-19.