The Amy Gillett Foundation and leading Australian injury prevention research institute, the Monash University Accident Research Centre, today confirmed Marilyn Johnson as the inaugural recipient of the Safe Family Research Scholarship.

The announcement highlights the urgent need for research into bicyclist and motorist accidents and fatalities, such as the death of Mr James Gould, who died when struck by a cyclist in August 2006.

A first in Australian traffic safety research, the three-year postgraduate scholarship recipient will conduct research into traffic safety relating specifically to the interactions between bicycles and other vehicles on our roads.

'In addition to some sobering accident statistics, a recent Accident Research Centre (MUARC) study commissioned by the Amy Gillett Foundation (AGF) clearly showed we do not have enough information about the characteristics of bicycle and motorist crashes,' AGF General Manager, Melinda Jacobsen said.

'By partnering with one of Australia's most respected traffic research institutes to award this scholarship we hope to make a real difference to safety on our increasingly crowded roads, especially given more bikes have been sold than cars for the last seven years,' she added.

The Foundation established the Safe Family Research Scholarship to further its work to address issues of safety on roads when motorists and cyclists all share the same space.

Scholarship recipient Marilyn Johnson hopes the research will lead to improved safety for all modes by investigating the collisions and near collisions with bicyclists from the perspective of all road users. The study will explore the circumstances of the incidents, and people's experiences, attitudes and behaviour as a result of the incident.

Ms Johnson is expected to commence her postgraduate research immediately.