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"It's a virtuous cycle", Dr. Julie Hatfield of the University of New South Wales said in a statement. "The likelihood that an individual cyclist will be struck by a motorist falls with increasing rate of bicycling in a community. And the safer cycling is perceived to be, the more people are prepared to cycle."

The effect is independent of improvements via cycling-friendly laws such as lower speed limits and better infrastructure, such as bike paths, Hatfield adds.

As cycling participation increases, a bicyclist is far less likely to collide with a motor vehicle or suffer injury and death -- and what's true for cyclists is true for pedestrians, Hatfield says.

It's not simply because there are fewer cars on the roads, but because motorists seem to change their behavior and drive more safely when they see more cyclists and pedestrians around. For example, a community that doubles its cycling numbers can expect a one-third drop in the per-cyclist frequency of a crash with a motor vehicle, the researcher says.

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