More Than a Cyclist Wins National Road Safety Award

Healthy Cities Australia is proud to announce that More Than a Cyclist has been awarded the Community Programs Award at the 2026 Australian Road Safety Awards, recognising the campaign’s success in building empathy between road users and creating safer, more respectful roads.

Presented by the Australian Road Safety Foundation (ARSF) at Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian Road Safety Awards celebrate programs that are delivering meaningful, measurable change in road safety across the country. In 2026, the Awards attracted a record 128 entries, highlighting the growing commitment of organisations, governments and communities to reducing road trauma and improving safety outcomes for all Australians.

For Healthy Cities Australia, this recognition reflects years of work to challenge perceptions, shift behaviours and remind drivers that the person on a bike is, above all else, a person.

Changing the Story Behind the Bike

Born in the United Kingdom, the original More Than a Cyclist campaign demonstrated the power of storytelling to change attitudes toward people who ride bikes. Inspired by its success, Healthy Cities Australia adapted the campaign for the Illawarra, taking a place-based approach grounded in local voices, local stories and local road safety challenges.

At its heart, the campaign asks a simple question: what happens when we shift the story behind the bike?

Rather than focusing on rules, enforcement or road-user conflict, More Than a Cyclist challenges people to see beyond the cyclist they encounter on the road. Through striking imagery, each campaign participant is presented in two ways — as a cyclist and as the person they are in everyday life: a parent, teacher, volunteer, healthcare worker, friend or neighbour.

The message is simple but powerful: people who ride bikes are more than cyclists. They’re members of our community. You might even know them.

By highlighting the human side of every rider, the campaign aims to reduce dehumanisation, build empathy and encourage safer interactions between drivers and cyclists.

Building Safer Shared Roads

Driver frustration and negative attitudes towards cyclists have long been recognised as contributors to unsafe road interactions. More Than a Cyclist was designed to address these emotional drivers by encouraging patience, understanding and mutual respect among all road users.

The campaign was first delivered in 2022 and expanded significantly during its 2024–2025 phase through funding from the NSW Community Road Safety Grant. Campaign messages were strategically placed in high-traffic locations throughout Wollongong, ensuring drivers encountered the message in real-world driving environments.

Delivery included:

• Billboards in key traffic corridors
• Bus advertising across major routes
• Posters and outdoor advertising
• Facebook and Instagram campaigns
• Radio advertising

The most recent campaign reached approximately 500,000 people, making it the largest and most visible phase of More Than a Cyclist to date.

Delivering Measurable Behaviour Change

A key reason for the campaign’s recognition at the Australian Road Safety Awards was its strong evidence base and demonstrated impact.

Independent, multi-wave evaluation showed significant improvements in attitudes towards cyclists and road sharing:

• Driver frustration towards cyclists fell from 45% to 37%.
• Approximately 50% of respondents recalled cyclist safety advertising.
• 93% of people remembered the campaign message.
• Drivers exposed to the campaign demonstrated improved understanding and acceptance of cyclists’ presence on the road.
• There was a measurable reduction in the number of people who viewed cyclists as a nuisance.

The evaluation also confirmed the effectiveness of the campaign’s simple, high-impact visual approach and the value of repeated exposure across carefully selected media channels.

These results demonstrate that positive behaviour change can be achieved by addressing the attitudes and perceptions that influence how people behave behind the wheel.

From Local Campaign to National Movement

The success of More Than a Cyclist has extended well beyond the Illawarra.

In 2025, Healthy Cities Australia formalised a Memorandum of Understanding with the campaign’s UK creators, becoming the official organisation responsible for delivering More Than a Cyclist Australia. This partnership marks an exciting evolution from a successful regional campaign to a nationally scalable road safety initiative.

As the program grows, Healthy Cities Australia remains committed to evidence-based delivery, community engagement and building a culture where all road users are treated with respect.

A Shared Achievement

Every life lost or seriously injured on Australian roads is preventable. Programs like More Than a Cyclist demonstrate that meaningful change is possible when communities come together to challenge attitudes and promote safer behaviours.

We are honoured that the campaign has been recognised with the Community Programs Award and thank the many people who contributed to its success — including the local riders who shared their stories, community partners, supporters, researchers and everyone who helped amplify the message.

This award is not only a celebration of what has been achieved so far, but also a reminder of the work still to be done.

Because the next time you see someone on a bike, remember: they’re more than a cyclist. They’re someone’s friend, colleague, neighbour or family member.

And giving them a little more space could make all the difference.

Learn more about the campaign and how to run it in your community: https://www.morethanacyclist.org.au