Cyclists who do not wear fluorescent clothing are up to eight times more likely to need time off from work due to a serious accident, suggests new research.

Researchers at The University of Auckland have conducted a study of nearly 2500 cyclists taking part in the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge. Cyclists were surveyed on their cycling habits and accidents within the previous year. The results showed those cyclists that wore fluorescent colours when cycling reported less crashes (0.38 vs 0.53 crashes per cyclist per year), and required less time off work due to accidents (0.23 vs 0.46 days per cyclist per year).

759 of those cyclists interviewed had suffered at least one accident whilst cycling in the previous year, an average of 0.5 crashes per cyclist. Of these, a third of crashes required attention by a health professional. Accidents whilst cycling resulted in an average of 0.4 days off work per cyclist during the year.

"Low visibility of cyclists is a major contributor to crash related injury," says Dr Simon Thornley from the School of Population Health. "Simply by wearing fluorescent clothing, cyclists can markedly increase their visibility and reduce the likelihood of crashes by 77%."