Severity of Urban Cycling Injuries and the Relationship with Personal, Trip, Route and Crash Characteristics: Analyses Using Four Severity Metrics

Overview

Journal BMJ Open

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2015 Jan 8

PMID 25564148

Citations 13

Authors

Peter A Cripton

Hui Shen

Jeff R Brubacher

Mary Chipman

Steven M Friedman

M Anne Harris

Meghan Winters

Conor C O Reynolds

Michael D Cusimano

Shelina Babul

Kay Teschke

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relationship between cycling injury severity and personal, trip, route and crash characteristics.

Methods: Data from a previous study of injury risk, conducted in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, were used to classify injury severity using four metrics: (1) did not continue trip by bike; (2) transported to hospital by ambulance; (3) admitted to hospital; and (4) Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS). Multiple logistic regression was used to examine associations with personal, trip, route and crash characteristics.

Results: Of 683 adults injured while cycling, 528 did not continue their trip by bike, 251 were transported by ambulance and 60 were admitted to hospital for further treatment. Treatment urgencies included 75 as CTAS=1 or 2 (most medically urgent), 284 as CTAS=3, and 320 as CTAS=4 or 5 (least medically urgent). Older age and collision with a motor vehicle were consistently associated with increased severity in all four metrics and statistically significant in three each (both variables with ambulance transport and CTAS; age with hospital admission; and motor vehicle collision with did not continue by bike). Other factors were consistently associated with more severe injuries, but statistically significant in one metric each: downhill grades; higher motor vehicle speeds; sidewalks (these significant for ambulance transport); multiuse paths and local streets (both significant for hospital admission).

Conclusions: In two of Canada's largest cities, about one-third of the bicycle crashes were collisions with motor vehicles and the resulting injuries were more severe than in other crash circumstances, underscoring the importance of separating cyclists from motor vehicle traffic. Our results also suggest that bicycling injury severity and injury risk would be reduced on facilities that minimise slopes, have lower vehicle speeds, and that are designed for bicycling rather than shared with pedestrians.

Citing Articles

Severe and Fatal Cycling Crash Injury in Britain: Time to Make Urban Cycling Safer.

Mason-Jones A, Turrell S, Gomez G, Tait C, Lovelace R J Urban Health. 2022; 99(2):334-343.

PMID: 35277814 PMC: 8916078. DOI: 10.1007/s11524-022-00617-7.

Moore C, Baharikhoob P, Khodadadi M, Tator C BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2020; 6(1):e000746.

PMID: 32341802 PMC: 7173986. DOI: 10.1136/bmjsem-2020-000746.

Injury patterns in elderly cyclists and motorcyclists presenting to a tertiary trauma centre in Singapore.

Cheong H, Tham K, Chiu L Singapore Med J. 2020; 62(9):482-485.

PMID: 32211913 PMC: 9251234. DOI: 10.11622/smedj.2020038.

Cyclist Injury Severity in Spain: A Bayesian Analysis of Police Road Injury Data Focusing on Involved Vehicles and Route Environment.

Aldred R, Garcia-Herrero S, Anaya E, Herrera S, Mariscal M Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019; 17(1).

PMID: 31877756 PMC: 6981826. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17010096.

Well-being, behavioral patterns and cycling crashes of different age groups in Latin America: Are aging adults the safest cyclists?.

Useche S, Alonso F, Sanmartin J, Montoro L, Cendales B PLoS One. 2019; 14(8):e0221864.

PMID: 31461508 PMC: 6713343. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221864.

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