Many countries have recently set out policy frameworks to support the growth of cycling. However, increased cycling can mean more collisions, injuries and even fatalities. This paper discusses the role of safety in cycling policy in the particular case of Ireland, which is one of the countries that has a government-endorsed policy to increase cycling. It examines available information on cycling, including police-reported accident data over the last fifteen years and more recent hospital accident data. Comparisons are made for injuries between the two sources and data matching and capture-recapture methods used to estimate injuries. The deficiencies in data are analysed and suggestions for improvements made. It is argued that gaps in available data have led to accident risks being poorly understood. The paper discusses how a convergence in cycling and safety policy can be achieved and suggests additional measures including a cycling safety target, increased communication on cycling safety, lower urban speeds and compulsory wearing of helmets for children. Background: Road Safety and Cycling in Ireland Road safetyIreland has had a highly successful decade in reducing road traffic fatalities and has jumped up the international safety league tables (International Transport Forum( IRTAD), 2011). Not previously known as a country with a particularly good road safety record, the achievements, especially in the latter half of the past decade have attracted a lot of attention from international bodies and from countries keen to understand the reasons for the improvements. With a fatality rate of less than 50 per million people, Ireland, in 2010, joined the elite group of around ten countries achieving this level (IRTAD, 2011). In terms of fatalities per vehicle kilometre, arguably a more correct measure, Ireland was rated fourth behind Iceland, Sweden and Great Britain, recording fewer than 5 deaths per billion vehicle kilometres. Cyclist fatalities have also fallen significantly and at 5 in 2010 were among the lowest (absolutely and per capita) in the OECD (IRTAD, 2011). CyclingBetween 1986 and 2002, cycling in Ireland declined dramatically as can be seen from Table 1. The number of people cycling to work almost halved and, because the number at work grew, the modal share by bike fell from 5.6% to below 2% (CSO 2011(a)). The decline in cycling to school or college was even more striking. Between 1986 and 2006, the number of children between 5 and 12 years of age cycling to school fell by 83%. The number of 13-18 year olds cycling to school fell even more, by 85% and the number of girls of this age cycling to school *Manuscript (without author's information) Click here to view linked References 2 fell by 98%. In 2011, there were as many people in this age group driving a car to school or college as there were cycling. (CSO, 2011 (a)).The decline halted between 2002 and 2006 and cycling started to grow again. Supported by policy, including a successful scheme to subsidise bicycle purchase through tax-free loans (...
The study of non-fatal road traffic injuries is growing in importance. Since there are rarely comprehensive injury datasets, it is necessary to combine different sources to obtain better estimates on the extent and nature of the problem. Record linkage is one such technique. In this study, anonymised datasets from three separate sources of injury data in Ireland -hospitals, police and injury claims are linked using probabilistic and deterministic linkage techniques. A method is proposed that creates a 'best' set of linked records for analysis, useful when clerical review of undecided cases is not feasible. The linkage of police and hospital datasets shows results that are not dissimilar to those found in other countries, with significant police understatement especially of cyclist and motorcyclist injuries. The addition of the third dataset identifies a large number of additional injuries and demonstrates the error of using only the two main sources for injury data. The study also underlines the risk in relying on the LincolnPetersen capture-recapture estimator to provide an estimate of the total population concerned. The data show that road traffic injuries are significantly more numerous than either police or hospital sources indicate. It is also argued that no single measure can fully capture the range of impacts that a serious injury entails. Record Linkage for Road Traffic Injuries in Ireland using Record Linkage for Road Traffic Injuries in Ireland using Police Hospital and Injury Claims Data ABSTRACTThe study of non-fatal road traffic injuries is growing in importance. Since there are rarely comprehensive injury datasets, it is necessary to combine different sources to obtain better estimates on the extent and nature of the problem. Record linkage is one such technique. In this study, anonymised datasets from three separate sources of injury data in Ireland -hospitals, police and injury claims are linked using probabilistic and deterministic linkage techniques. A method is proposed that creates a 'best' set of linked records for analysis, useful when clerical review of undecided cases is not feasible. The linkage of police and hospital datasets shows results that are not dissimilar to those found in other countries, with significant police understatement especially of cyclist and motorcyclist injuries. The addition of the third dataset identifies a large number of additional injuries and demonstrates the error of using only the two main sources for injury data. The study also underlines the risk in relying on the Lincoln-Petersen capture-recapture estimator to provide an estimate of the total population concerned. The data show that road traffic injuries are significantly more numerous than either police or hospital sources indicate. It is also argued that no single measure can fully capture the range of impacts that a serious injury entails.
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