Introduction:
Cycling under the influence of alcohol is an underestimated problem in road safety. In the Netherlands, 75% of drunk/drugged road traffic victims who visited the Emergency Department were riding a bike. Moreover, the number of injured cyclists using alcohol and/or drugs prior to traffic accidents increased by 84% in the last ten years. Whereas drunk driving is widely recognized as a road safety hazard, the problem of cycling under the influence of alcohol remains largely unnoticed. We investigated the risk factors associated with bike accidents under the influence of alcohol. Additionally, we translated behavioural insights into a behavioural change strategy aimed at choosing an alternative transportation mode after alcohol consumption.

Objectives:
This study combines injury surveillance data with a behavioural science approach to minimize cycling under the influence of alcohol.

Methods:
We used data from the Dutch Injury Surveillance System to assess demographics and injury severity of drunk cyclists who visited the Emergency Department after a traffic accident. Furthermore, we conducted a behaviour analysis to gain insight in the reasons for riding a bike or choosing an alternative transportation mode after drinking. This analysis included various qualitative research methods such as social media analysis, semi-structured interviews and field research.

Results:
People aged 18-34 years, particularly males, are at risk of getting involved in bike accidents under the influence of alcohol. Almost 75% of all accidents was one-sided, and victims often suffered from serious head injuries. Behavioural analysis showed that cycling was strongly preferred over alternative transportation modes when people were planning on drinking. The most important factors for choosing the bike were its comforts, social norm, overconfidence, (absence of) knowledge and risk perception. Subsequently, we linked these factors to effective behavioural change techniques to achieve the desired behavior ‘get home safely’. These techniques have been implemented in an information campaign that will be launched in the spring of 2023. We will share the results of the campaign during the Eurosafe congress.

Conclusion:
Combining injury data with a behavioural science approach is an effective way to translate research into practice. Behaviour analysis of the identified group-at-risk yielded important drivers of human behavior that can be influenced using appropriate behavioural change techniques and design interventions accordingly.

Keywords:  Injury surveillance, Behavioural design, Cycling under the influence of alcohol.