HKBU investigation finds 20% of high school students in Hong Kong can’t ride a bike

[Amuro Lee]

Commerical Radio – 11:36 AM, Sunday, 17 July 2011

A survey of 2700 secondary students by the Department of Physical Education at Hong kong Baptist University done earlier this year shows that 20% of them can’t ride a bicycle; half of the non-riders were from Hong Kong Island. The survey also found that half of surveyed high school students had been injured when riding bicycles, and there is a general lack of safety awareness.

A spokesman from HKBU Department of Physical Education said cycling should be part of the high school physical education curriculum. However, the small size of local secondary schools and the lack of urban cycle tracks lead to a high proportion of students not knowing how to ride a bicycle. He proposed an increase in cycling facilities, and enhanced bicycle safety education.

[Amuro Lee]

SCMP
Adrian Wan
Jul 18, 2011
(temporary link)

The government is being urged to step up the promotion of cycling safety after a survey found few secondary school pupils knew anything about it.
The Baptist University study found that one in every five pupils could not ride a bicycle, and the vast majority of those who could did not wear any safety gear.
The university's physical education department surveyed more than 2,700 secondary school pupils on their cycling ability and awareness of safety issues.
Lobo Louie Hung-tak, an associate professor of physical education at the university, said yesterday that the percentage of pupils who could not ride a bicycle in Hong Kong was higher than elsewhere.
Half of the respondents who could ride a bicycle said they had had accidents.
"We also found that most of the pupils did not check whether their bicycles were safe before they set off," Louie said.
It was necessary to check the tyres, wheels, brakes and chain to ensure they were functional, he advised.
"Too many young people still cannot ride a bicycle because of small school campuses and a dearth of cycling lanes," he said.
Louie recommended that the government provide more facilities for cycling and to do more to promote safe cycling.
adrian.wan@scmp.com


Baptist University's survey found that almost all secondary school pupils who can ride a bicycle do not wear helmets.