Bicycle Safety Education for Adolescent Bicycling Safety

Overseen By Cara Hamann, PHD

Age: < 18

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Cara J. Hamann

Disqualifiers: Seizure disorder, Mobility issue, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 2

195 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial tests a bicycle safety education program for young cyclists aged 9 to 12. The goal is to determine if training improves safety behaviors, such as helmet use and hazard recognition. The study compares three groups: one with no training, one with 12 hours of safety education (Bike Club), and another with the same education plus a session for parents (Bike Club Plus). Children who ride their bikes at least twice a week and live in Johnson County, Iowa, may be suitable participants. As an unphased trial, this study offers young cyclists a unique chance to enhance their safety skills and contribute to important educational research.

Do I need to stop my current medications to join the trial?

The trial information does not specify whether participants need to stop taking their current medications. It seems unlikely that medication use would affect participation, as the study focuses on bicycle safety education.

What prior data suggests that this bicycle safety education program is safe for adolescents?

Research shows that the bicycle safety education programs, Bike Club and Bike Club Plus, help young cyclists develop safer habits. These programs teach kids about wearing helmets, spotting dangers, and obeying traffic rules.

Studies have not reported any negative effects from these educational programs. Since they focus on learning rather than medicine or physical treatment, they are generally safe. The goal is to teach safe biking without involving any physical risk.

The Bike Club Plus program also provides extra training for parents, enhancing safety education by involving them in learning the best biking safety practices. Overall, this type of program is well-received because it emphasizes learning and practicing safer biking skills. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the Bicycle Safety Education treatments because they aim to directly enhance adolescent bicycling safety through comprehensive education. The Bike Club program offers a 12-hour hands-on safety curriculum, which is a more structured approach compared to typical safety tips or pamphlets. Bike Club Plus goes a step further by involving parents, providing them with training on best practices and child development in relation to bicycling. This dual focus on both adolescents and their parents is a novel approach that could lead to more effective and lasting safety behaviors in young cyclists.

What evidence suggests that this trial's bicycle safety education programs could be effective for improving adolescent bicycling safety?

In this trial, participants will join either the Bike Club or the Bike Club Plus program. Past studies have shown that bicycle safety education programs improve safety habits among young teens. Programs like the Bike Club teach essential skills such as wearing helmets, spotting dangers, and following traffic rules. Research indicates that these programs help reduce common mistakes like riding against traffic or swerving. The Bike Club Plus, which includes training for parents, aims to enhance these benefits by involving parents in safety education. Early results suggest that this combined approach could lead to even better safety outcomes for young bicyclists. ^{1 2 4 6 7}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Cara Hamann, PHD

Principal Investigator

University of Iowa College of Public Health; University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for English-speaking adolescents aged 9 to 12 who have their own bicycle and ride at least twice a week. They must not have been in similar bike safety programs before, live in Johnson County, Iowa, and be willing to join after school or summer bicycling safety sessions. Only one child per family can participate, excluding wards of the state or those with conditions that make cycling unsafe.

Inclusion Criteria

I am between 9 and 12 years old.

Lives in Johnson County, Iowa

No siblings already enrolled in the study (only one adolescent per family will be enrolled)

Exclusion Criteria

I have a health condition that makes physical activities like biking unsafe.

Does not agree to or meet one or more of the inclusion criteria

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1 week

1 visit (in-person)

Baseline Data Collection

Participants ride their bicycles as they normally would during the baseline 1-week observation period with GPS and video recording

1 week

No specified visits

Intervention

Participants in the intervention groups receive a 12-hour bicycle safety education program, with an enhanced version for the Bike Club Plus group including parent training

Varies

Multiple sessions (in-person)

Post-intervention Data Collection

Participants ride their bicycles during the second one-week observation period with GPS and video recording

1 week

No specified visits

Follow-up

Follow-up surveys are administered to participants, and equipment is collected

1 week

1 visit (in-person)

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Bike Club
• Bike Club Plus

Trial Overview The study tests a community-based bicycle safety education program (Bike Club) against an enhanced version with parent training (Bike Club Plus), compared to no intervention. Adolescents' bikes will be fitted with GPS/video tech (Pedal Portal) to track behavior and risk exposure while biking.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Bike Club Plus Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Participants will receive an enhanced version of the 12-hour bicycle safety education program which will include a parent training session on bicycling safety best practices, child development as it relates to bicycling, strategies for practice at home, and feedback on their adolescent's bicycling performance.

Group II: Bike Club Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Participants will receive a 12-hour bicycle safety education program

Group III: Control Group Active Control 1 Intervention

The control group will not receive any bicycle safety education programming.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Cara J. Hamann

Lead Sponsor

Trials

1

Recruited

190+

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Collaborator

Trials

2,103

Recruited

2,760,000+

Citations

1. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40018563/

Protocol of a cluster-randomised trial to improve ... This paper summarises a cluster-randomised trial to evaluate the impact of a bicycle safety education programme for young adolescents.

2. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05265689

Study to Improve Adolescent Bicycling Safety | ... This cluster randomized controlled trial will evaluate a community-based bicycle safety education program with and without an in-person parent training ...

3. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11816395/

Protocol of a cluster-randomised trial to improve ... This paper summarises a cluster-randomised trial to evaluate the impact of a bicycle safety education programme for young adolescents.

4. researchgate.net researchgate.net/publication/389428757_Protocol_of_a_cluster-randomised_trial_to_improve_adolescent_bicycling_safety_education_programme_efficacy

(PDF) Protocol of a cluster-randomised trial to improve ... This paper summarises a cluster-randomised trial to evaluate the impact of a bicycle safety education programme for young adolescents. Methods and analysis ...

5. goodday.health goodday.health/trials/5265689

Study to Improve Adolescent Bicycling Safety - GoodDay This cluster randomized controlled trial will evaluate a community-based bicycle safety education program with and without an in-person parent training ...

6. bmjpublichealth.bmj.com bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/bmjph/2/2/e001059.full.pdf

randomised trial to improve adolescent bicycling safety ... Safety behaviours and events will be meas- ured through an objective on- bicycle video system with tailored outcome coding, called Pedal Portal 2, adapted and ...

7. trips.lab.uiowa.edu trips.lab.uiowa.edu/bicycle-and-pedestrian

Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Research | TRIPS Lab The aims of the study are to see if kids who participate in Bike Club Safety Camp have improved bicycling safety behaviors, knowledge, and self-efficacy. Data ...