Swedish authorities have set up a campaign that aims to warn young people of the dangers of cycling drunk.
In an interview with the Danish news site DR, Morten Wehner of the Swedish Road Safety Council explained that a third of young Swedes say that they have ridden their bikes when they were too drunk to do so safely. The study, carried out in collaboration with the research institute Wilke, questioned 16-19 years olds about their habits with alcohol and bicycles.
According to Wehner, the phenomenon “is a big problem” with many young people assuming they can “easily ride a bike even if they have been drinking”. However, Wehner points to the fact that there are, in his words, “far too many young people who end up in emergency rooms” with injuries sustained due to drunk cycling.
One example is 20 year old Mira Bilal, who needed five stitches after smashing her head on the curb following a crash. Bilal tells DR that it never even occurred to her that there could be any added risk of cycling home drunk, adding that it’s just something that is normal in her town and among her friends.
It’s cases like these that Wehner and the Swedish Road Safety Council want to prevent. To do this, they will be running a campaign on social media which will include stories like Mira’s, in an attempt to help young people consider the potential consequences.
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