Bicycle accidents and injuries among adult cyclists

Abstract

Bicycling accidents comprised the greatest recreational source of Emergency Room visits last year, numbering over 500,000. To evaluate cycling morbidity, 492 active adult bicyclists from a metropolitan area responded to a survey to determine cycle use and accident patterns. Nearly half (46%) have been involved in an accident with the cyclists being at fault 58.7% of the time. Soft tissue injuries to the extremities predominated with 9.3% of all injuries requiring hospitalization (average, 7 days) and 22.5% missing days from work or school. Significant factors contributing to bicycle accidents included rider carelessness (58.7%), cycle malfunction (14.9%), environmental factors (36.9%), turns (22.9%) and hills (13.4%), and companion riders (15%). The use of riding helmets decreased the severity of injury and hospitalization time. The education of cyclists and drivers with the integration of bicycles into normal traffic patterns should help decrease the morbidity and mortality.

Cyclists injured while sharing the road with motor vehicles

“…Consistent with other studies, [12][13][14][15][16] our findings indicate that injury rates were highest for children aged 10-14 years; most of those injured were male; most occurred during the summer months; and riders injured during an encounter with a MV had more severe injuries. Internal head injuries and extremity fractures were the most common types of injuries among those who were hospitalised.…”

Use of conspicuity aids by cyclists and risk of crashes involving other road users: Population based case-control study

“…A retrospective self-report approach was used by Kiburz & Jacobs et al in the US in a sample of cycling club members and organized ride participants 82 .…”

Lessons from 40 years of planning for cycle‐inclusion: Reflections from Santiago, Chile

“…Early writing about cycling focused on road safety, for children (Preston, ; Hillman et al ., ; Hillman, ), adults (Kiburz et al ., ), or with regard to the “geography” of traffic accidents (Whitelegg, ). Transport's importance as a public health issue emerged in the 1990s (Godlee, ; Gilbert and McCarthy, ) and Oregon approved its first bicycle and pedestrian plan in 1995 (Oregon, ), establishing its leadership in North America.…”

“…Early writing about cycling focused on road safety, for children (Preston, 1980;Hillman et al, 1990;Hillman, 1999), adults (Kiburz et al, 1986), or with regard to the "geography" of traffic accidents (Whitelegg, 1987). Transport's importance as a public health issue emerged in the 1990s (Godlee, 1992;Gilbert and McCarthy, 1994) and…”