Are you an ambitious cyclist? Results of the cyclist profile questionnaire in Germany

Abstract

Objective: A number of studies have already grouped cyclists according to different aspects of their mobility behavior. This could be used e.g., to improve the bicycle infrastructure planning, to detect critical spots and, to reduce obstacles for cycling. This wide, preexisting, range of cyclist typologies usually concentrates on one or two influence factors and differs, content-wise, in both factors used, as well as, methodically. Based on existing cyclist typologies we extracted all possible influence factors to integrate them in one single questionnaire. The objective of this study, using an empirical, based approach, is to compare this typology of cyclists with existing ones, integrating all known influence factors of recent studies.

Methods: To address these issues, we conducted a Germany-wide online survey on cycling behavior, covering all relevant aspects we derived from both literature and especially, former cyclist typology studies including: social factors; the impact of environmental, individual; and route factors; as well as motives. The main goal was to identify distinct types of cyclists, and describe them as detailed as possible. The heterogeneous sample included a total of 10,294 responses.

Results: Using factor and cluster analyses, a multidimensional typology with four groups of cyclists was derived which were interpreted as: ambitious, functional, pragmatic, and passionate cyclists. In addition, socio-economic factors, cyclist’s motivation, and crash history were analyzed.

Conclusion: The results produced by grouping different characteristics of cyclists can lead to policy recommendations or communal bicycle traffic planning. Policy planners can estimate reactions of the different types on interventions and adjust their decisions which can serve to support already passionate cyclists or, encourage normally under-represented infrequent cyclists to cycle more. The extent of perceived safety plays here an important role in the classification, e.g., the handling of high-risk areas for crashes.     

Cycle Aware Package: Using Haddon’s matrix to reduce novice driver crashes with cyclists

Abstract

Objectives: What are we teaching drivers about safely interacting with cyclists? This is the main objective of the Cycle Aware project. As part of the study, a teaching and learning package is being developed to fill this gap in Australia.

Methods: Cycle Aware is a major national project that takes a mixed methods approach to investigate how cyclists are taught to share the road with cyclists when learning to drive. The project has five stages: (1) a national review of the driver licensing documentation; (2) interviews with key stakeholders (n?=?35) involved with novice driver education; (3) analysis of cyclist-novice driver crash data to identify the most frequent crash types; (4) develop a teaching and learning package (Cycle Aware Package), and; trial and evaluate Cycle Aware Package.

Results: Overall, drivers are taught little about sharing the road with cyclists. Representation of cyclists in government documentation is mixed and mostly negative and interviews identified driver-cyclist tensions related to attitudes and awareness of sharing the road. Crash types were similar among novice and experienced drivers. The Cycle Aware Package is being finalised and will be trialled in South Australia and Northern Territory in early 2019.

Conclusions: Cycle Aware will provide new insights into the way drivers are taught to share the road with cyclists. The Cycle Aware Package with interactive online content and driver competencies will facilitate a new approach to addressing this gap among Australia drivers.     

Assessing the safety criticality of driver behavior toward cyclists at intersections

Abstract

Objective: Detailed analyses of car-to-cyclist accidents show that drivers intending to turn right at T-junctions collide more often with cyclists crossing from the right side on the bicycle lane than drivers intending to turn left. This fact has led to numerous studies examining the behavior of drivers turning left and right. However, the most essential question still has not been sufficiently answered: is the behavior of drivers intending to turn right generally more safety critical than the behavior of those intending to turn left? The purpose of this article is to provide a method that allows to determine whether a driver’s behavior toward cyclists can retrospectively be assessed as critical or non-critical.

Methods: Several theoretical considerations enriched by findings of experimental studies were employed to devise a multi-measure method. This method was applied to a dataset containing real-world approaching behavior of 48 drivers turning right and left at four T-junctions with different sight obstructions. For each driver a behavior-specific criticality was defined based on both, their driving and gaze behavior. Moreover, based on the behavior-specific criticality of each driver, the required field of view to see a cyclist from the right was defined and was set into relation with the available field of view of the T-junction.

Results: The results show that only a small portion of the drivers within the dataset would have posed an actual risk to cyclists crossing from the right side. Those situations with a higher safety criticality did not only arise when drivers intended to turn right, but also left.

Conclusion: Therefore, the analysis can only provide an explanation for the higher proportion of accidents between drivers turning right and cyclists crossing from the right side in certain situations. Further research, for example analyses of exposure data regarding the frequency of turning manoeuvers at T-junctions, is needed in order to explain the higher proportion of accidents between drivers turning right and cyclists crossing from the right side.     

AEB effectiveness evaluation based on car-to-cyclist accident reconstructions using video of drive recorder

Objective: Though autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems for car-to-cyclist collisions have been under development, an estimate of the benefit of AEB systems based on an analysis of accident data is needed for further enhancing their development. Compared to the data available from in-depth accident data files, data provided by drive recorders can be used to reconstruct car-to-cyclist collisions with greater accuracy because the position of cyclists can be observed from the videos. In this study, using data from drive recorders, the performance and limitations of AEB systems were investigated.

Method: Data of drive recorders involving taxi-to-cyclist collisions were collected. Using the images collected from the drive recorders of those taxis, 40 cases of 90° car-to-cyclist intersection collisions were reconstructed using PC-Crash. Then, the collisions were reconstructed again utilizing car models with AEB systems installed while changing the sensor’s field of view (FOV) and the delay time of initiating vehicle deceleration.

Results: The angle of FOV has a significant influence on avoiding car-to-cyclist collisions. Using a 50° FOV with a braking delay time of 0.5?s resulted in avoiding 6 collisions, and using a 90° FOV resulted in avoiding an additional 14 collisions. Even when installing an ideal AEB system providing 360° FOV and no delay time for braking, 8 collisions were not avoided, though the impact velocities were reduced for all of these remaining collisions. These collisions were caused by the cyclists’ sudden appearance in front of cars, and the time-to-collision (TTC) when the cyclists appeared was less than 0.9?s.

Conclusion: The AEB systems were effective for mitigating collisions that occurred due to driver perception delay. Because cyclists have a traveling velocity, a wide-angle FOV is effective for reduction of car-to-cyclist intersection collisions. The reduction of delay time in braking can reduce the number of collisions that are close to the braking performance limit. The collisions that remained even with an ideal AEB system in the PC-Crash simulation indicate that such collisions could still occur for autonomous cars if the traffic environment does not change.     

A simulator study of driving behavior and mental workload in mixed-use arterial road environments

Objectives: Mixed-use urban environments, such as arterial roads with adjacent commercial land uses, represent crash locations with the highest risk. These locations are often characterized by high volumes of motor vehicle traffic, on-street parking, and interactions with multiple road user groups such as pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation. The objective of this study was to investigate previously identified crash risk factors for mixed-use urban environments and assess how parking occupancy, center medians, and cyclist volume influence performance and workload in a driving simulator study.

Methods: Thirty participants were recruited for the study. Participants completed 6 drives that presented different combinations of cyclist volume, median condition, and parking occupancy. Incorporated into the simulator drives was a secondary peripheral detection task (PDT) designed to measure mental workload. Participants provided subjective assessments of workload using the Rating Scale Mental Effort (RSME).

Results: Mean lateral lane position was found to significantly vary across the 3 independent variables of parking occupancy, cyclist volume, and median conditions. No significant changes were identified for mean speed across the conditions. Subjective and objective measures of workload identified changes due to the presence of cyclists with slower reaction times for the PDT task when cyclists were present.

Conclusion: The findings provide insight into the interaction of road design elements in mixed-use urban road environments and demonstrate that increasingly complex environments increase driver demand. This has important road design implications for mixed-use arterial roads, which are often characterized by complex interactions between multiple road user groups.     

E-bikers’ braking behavior: Results from a naturalistic cycling study

Abstract

Objective: The number of e-bike users has increased significantly over the past few years and with it the associated safety concerns. Because e-bikes are faster than conventional bicycles and more prone to be in conflict with road users, e-bikers may need to perform avoidance maneuvers more frequently. Braking is the most common avoidance maneuver but is also a complex and critical task in emergency situations, because cyclists must reduce speed quickly without losing balance. The aim of this study is to understand the braking strategies of e-bikers in real-world traffic environments and to assess their road safety implications. This article investigates (1) how cyclists on e-bikes use front and rear brakes during routine cycling and (2) whether this behavior changes during unexpected conflicts with other road users.

Methods: Naturalistic data were collected from 6 regular bicycle riders who each rode e-bikes during a period of 2 weeks, for a total of 32.5?h of data. Braking events were identified and characterized through a combined analysis of brake pressure at each wheel, velocity, and longitudinal acceleration. Furthermore, the braking patterns obtained during unexpected events were compared with braking patterns during routine cycling.

Results: In the majority of braking events during routine cycling, cyclists used only one brake at a time, favoring one of the 2 brakes according to a personal pre-established pattern. However, the favored brake varied among cyclists: 66% favored the rear brake and 16% the front brake. Only 16% of the cyclists showed no clear preference, variously using rear brake, front brake, or combined braking (both brakes at the same time), suggesting that the selection of which brake to use depended on the characteristics of the specific scenario experienced by the cyclist rather than on a personal preference. In unexpected conflicts, generally requiring a larger deceleration, combined braking became more prevalent for most of the cyclists; still, when combined braking was not applied, cyclists continued to use the favored brake of routine cycling. Kinematic analysis revealed that, when larger decelerations were required, cyclists more frequently used combined braking instead of single braking.

Conclusions: The results provide new insights into the behavior of cyclists on e-bikes and may provide support in the development of safety measures including guidelines and best practices for optimal brake use. The results may also inform the design of braking systems intended to reduce the complexity of the braking operation.     

Fatal and serious collisions involving pedal cyclists and trucks in London between 2007 and 2011

Objective: Increased numbers of people riding pedal cycles have led to a greater focus on pedal cycle safety. The aim of this article is to explore factors that are associated with fatal and a small number of serious-injury pedal cyclist crashes involving trucks that occurred in London between 2007 and 2011.

Methods: Data were collected from police collision files for 53 crashes, 27 of which involved a truck (≥3.5 tonnes) and a pedal cycle. A systematic case review approach was used to identify the infrastructure, vehicle road user, and management factors that contributed to these crashes and injuries and how these factors interacted.

Results: Trucks turning left conflicting with pedal cyclists traveling straight ahead was a common crash scenario. Key contributory factors identified included the pedal cyclists not being visible to the truck drivers, road narrowing, and inappropriate positioning of pedal cyclists.

Conclusions: Crashes involving trucks and pedal cyclists are complex events that are caused by multiple interacting factors; therefore, multiple measures are required to prevent them from occurring.     

An analysis of cyclists’ speed at combined pedestrian and cycle paths

Abstract

Objective: In Sweden, cyclists, pedestrians, and moped riders share the space on combined pedestrian and cycle paths, and their speeds may differ greatly. Both actual speed and speed differences can potentially influence the number of accidents on the shared paths. As a starting point, this article studies the speed component and how cyclists’ speed varies at pedestrian and cycle paths depending on the day, week, and year; road user composition; and road design.

Methods: Three data sources were used: Existing measurements of cycle speed and flow in 3 different Swedish municipalities, Eskilstuna (1 site, January–December 2015), Linköping (6 sites, 4?weeks in September–October 2015), and Stockholm (10 sites, 1–5?days in August–September 2015); complementary measurements of cycle speed and flow in Linköping (4 sites, 1–10?days in August–September 2016) and Stockholm (1 site, only part of 2?days in August 2016) were also conducted within the project, in addition to roadside observations of bicycle types at the 5 new sites.

Results: The average speed of cyclists on the paths varied between 12.5 and 26.5?km/h. As expected, the lower average speeds were found in uphill directions, near intersections, and on paths with high pedestrian flows. The higher speeds were found in downhill directions and on commuter routes. In all, 70%–95% of road users observed on pedestrian and cycle paths were cyclists, and 5%–30% were pedestrians. The most common type of bicycle was a comfort bike, followed by a trekking bike. Electric-assisted bicycles and racer bikes occurred at all sites, with proportions of 1%–10% and 1%–15%, respectively. The 2 sites with the highest proportion of electric-assisted bicycles and racer bicycles also had the highest average speeds. The differences in average speed throughout the day, week, and year could only be assessed at one of the sites. Only small differences were found, with the most noticeable being that the average speed was lower in January and February (13.8?km/h) compared to the rest of the year (15.3–16.1?km/h). The average speed was also lower during daytime (14.7?km/h) than during other parts of the day (15.4–15.8?km/h).

Conclusions: The relationship between bicycle type and measured speed was not entirely clear, but the results suggest that paths with higher proportions of electric and racer bicycles have higher average speeds. There also appears to be a connection between average speed and the width of the distribution; that is, the higher the average speed, the wider the speed distribution. More research is needed on how speed levels and speed variance affect accident risk.     

Forward collision warning based on a driver model to increase drivers’ acceptance

Abstract

Objective: Systems that can warn the driver of a possible collision with a vulnerable road user (VRU) have significant safety benefits. However, incorrect warning times can have adverse effects on the driver. If the warning is too late, drivers might not be able to react; if the warning is too early, drivers can become annoyed and might turn off the system. Currently, there are no methods to determine the right timing for a warning to achieve high effectiveness and acceptance by the driver. This study aims to validate a driver model as the basis for selecting appropriate warning times. The timing of the forward collision warnings (FCWs) selected for the current study was based on the comfort boundary (CB) model developed during a previous project, which describes the moment a driver would brake. Drivers’ acceptance toward these warnings was analyzed. The present study was conducted as part of the European research project PROSPECT (“Proactive Safety for Pedestrians and Cyclists”).

Methods: Two warnings were selected: One inside the CB and one outside the CB. The scenario tested was a cyclist crossing scenario with time to arrival (TTA) of 4?s (it takes the cyclist 4?s to reach the intersection). The timing of the warning inside the CB was at a time to collision (TTC) of 2.6?s (asymptotic value of the model at TTA = 4?s) and the warning outside the CB was at TTC = 1.7?s (below the lower 95% value at TTA = 4?s). Thirty-one participants took part in the test track study (between-subjects design where warning time was the independent variable). Participants were informed that they could brake any moment after the warning was issued. After the experiment, participants completed an acceptance survey.

Results: Participants reacted faster to the warning outside the CB compared to the warning inside the CB. This confirms that the CB model represents the criticality felt by the driver. Participants also rated the warning inside the CB as more disturbing, and they had a higher acceptance of the system with the warning outside the CB. The above results confirm the possibility of developing wellsaccepted warnings based on driver models.

Conclusions: Similar to other studies’ results, drivers prefer warning times that compare with their driving behavior. It is important to consider that the study tested only one scenario. In addition, in this study, participants were aware of the appearance of the cyclist and the warning. A further investigation should be conducted to determine the acceptance of distracted drivers.     

Digital screen use for a road safety campaign message was not associated with road safety awareness of passers-by: A quasi-experimental study

Introduction: Recent evidence suggests fatality risks for cyclists may be increasing in Britain. Understanding how to increase levels of cycling while keeping risk low is paramount. Educating drivers about cyclists may help with road safety, and mass-media messaging is a possible avenue, potentially utilizing digital displays screens in public areas. However, no studies have examined the use of these screens for road safety campaigns. Methods: A quasi-experiment was conducted to examine if digital screens may be effective to raise awareness of a campaign message and encourage recall of car drivers. A digital campaign image was selected that encouraged car drivers and cyclists to ‘look out for each other,’ and stated than 80% of cyclists owned a driving license. Views and knowledge on driver priorities around cyclists were examined before (control) and after campaign exposure (intervention), and tested using regression modelling. Results: 364 people were interviewed over five days. Those interviewed on intervention days were more likely to rank ‘Look out for cyclists’ as being more important compared to those interviewed on control days (OR 1.20), but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.355). Those who said they had seen the image did not rank ‘Look out for cyclists’ higher than those who said they had not seen it (p = 0.778). The disparity between reported and displayed percentage of cyclists with a driving license did not differ between intervention and control days, but was 8% higher amongst those who claimed to have seen the image (p = 0.026). Conclusions: We did not find strong evidence that use of an image on digital screens increased public awareness or recall of a casualty reduction campaign message. Work is needed to investigate the effects of longer-term exposure to road safety images. Practical Applications: Short-term use of digital signage is not recommended for raising awareness of road safety campaigns.     

Cycling Skill Inventory: Assessment of motor–tactical skills and safety motives

Abstract

Objective: It is well established within the traffic psychology literature that a distinction can be made between driving skill and driving style. The majority of self-report questionnaires have been developed for car drivers, whereas only limited knowledge exists on the riding skill and style of cyclists. Individual differences in cycling skills need to be understood in order to apply targeted interventions.

Methods: This study reports on a psychometric analysis of the Cycling Skill Inventory (CSI), a self-report questionnaire that asks cyclists to rate themselves from definitely weak to definitely strong on 17 items. Herein, we administered the CSI using an online crowdsourcing method, complemented with respondents who answered the questionnaire using paper and pencil (n?=?1,138 in total). Our analysis focuses on understanding the major sources of variance of the CSI and its correlates with gender, age, exposure, and self-reported accident involvement as a cyclist.

Results: The results showed that 2 components underlie the item data: Motor–tactical skills and safety motives. Correlational analyses indicated that participants with a higher safety motives score were involved in fewer self-reported cycling accidents in the past 3 years. The analysis also confirmed well-established gender differences, with male cyclists having lower safety motives but higher motor–tactical skills than female cyclists.

Conclusions: The nomological network of the CSI for cyclists is similar to that of the Driving Skill Inventory for car drivers. Safety motives are a predictor of self-reported accident involvement among cyclists.     

The potential of vehicle and road infrastructure interventions in fatal bicyclist accidents on Swedish roads—What can in-depth studies tell us?

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this article is to describe the characteristics of fatal crashes with bicyclists on Swedish roads in rural and urban areas and to investigate the potential of bicycle helmets and different vehicle and road infrastructure interventions to prevent them. The study has a comprehensive approach to provide road authorities and vehicle manufacturers with recommendations for future priorities.

Methods: The Swedish Transport Administration’s (STA) in-depth database of fatal crashes was used for case-by-case analysis of fatal cycling accidents (2006–2016) on rural (n?=?82) and urban (n?=?102) roads. The database consists of information from the police, medical journals, autopsy reports, accident analyses performed by STA, and witness statements. The potential of helmet use and various vehicle and road infrastructure safety interventions was determined retrospectively for each case by analyzing the chain of events leading to the fatality. The potential of vehicle safety countermeasures was analyzed based on prognoses on their implementation rates in the Swedish vehicle fleet.

Results: The most common accident scenario on rural roads was that the bicyclist was struck while cycling along the side of the road. On urban roads, the majority of accidents occurred in intersections. Most accidents involved a passenger car, but heavy trucks were also common, especially in urban areas. Most accidents occurred in daylight conditions (73%). Almost half (46%) of nonhelmeted bicyclists would have survived with a helmet. It was assessed that nearly 60% of the fatal accidents could be addressed by advanced vehicle safety technologies, especially autonomous emergency braking with the ability to detect bicyclists. With regard to interventions in the road infrastructure, separated paths for bicyclists and bicycle crossings with speed calming measures were found to have the greatest safety potential. Results indicated that 91% of fatally injured bicyclists could potentially be saved with known techniques. However, it will take a long time for such technologies to be widespread.

Conclusions: The majority of fatally injured bicyclists studied could potentially be saved with known techniques. A speedy implementation of important vehicle safety systems is recommended. A fast introduction of effective interventions in the road infrastructure is also necessary, preferably with a plan for prioritization.     

Multi-agent traffic simulations to estimate the impact of automated technologies on safety

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this article was to develop a multi-agent traffic simulation methodology to estimate the potential road safety improvements of automated vehicle technologies.

Methods: We developed a computer program that merges road infrastructure data with a large number of vehicles, drivers, and pedestrians. Human errors are induced by modeling inattention, aimless driving, insufficient safety confirmation, misjudgment, and inadequate operation. The program was applied to simulate traffic in a prescribed area in Tsukuba city. First, a 100% manual driving scenario was set to simulate traffic for a total preset vehicle travel distance. The crashes from this simulation were compared with real-world crash data from the prescribed area from 2012 to 2017. Thereafter, 4 additional scenarios of increasing levels of automation penetration (including combinations of automated emergency braking [AEB], lane departure warning [LDW], and SAE Level 4 functions) were implemented to estimate their impact on safety.

Results: Under manual driving, the system simulated a total of 859 crashes including single-car lane departure, car-to-car, and car-to-pedestrian crashes. These crashes tended to occur in locations similar to real-world crashes. The number of crashes predicted decreased to 156 cases with increasing level of automation. All of the technologies considered contributed to the decrease in crashes. Crash reductions attributable to AEB and LDW in the simulations were comparable to those reported in recent field studies. For the highest levels of automation, no assessment data were available and hence the results should be carefully treated. Further, in modeling automated functions, potentially negative aspects such as sensing failure or human overreliance were not incorporated.

Conclusions: We developed a multi-agent traffic simulation methodology to estimate the effect of different automated vehicle technologies on safety. The crash locations resulting from simulations of manual driving within a limited area in Japan were preliminary assessed by comparison with real-world crash data collected in the same area. Increasing penetration levels of AEB and LDW led to a large reduction in both the frequency and severity of rear-end crashes, followed by car-to-car head-on crashes and single-vehicle lane departure crashes. Preliminary estimations of the potential safety improvements that may be achieved with highly automated driving technologies were also obtained.     

The effect of speed limit reductions in urban areas on cyclists’ injuries in collisions with cars

Abstract

Objective: Impact speed is one of the most important factors explaining the severity of injuries to cyclists when they collide with passenger cars. To reduce injury severity (especially for vulnerable road users), since 2008, Swedish municipalities have the authority to lower the speed limit to 30 or 40?km/h in urban areas as appropriate. The aim of this study was to evaluate how this speed limit reduction has influenced the injury severity for cyclists in this type of collision.

Method: Data from 1,953 collisions between bicycles and passenger cars were collected using information from third-party-liability insurance claims from 2005 to 2017. The change of speed limit distribution, influenced by the reduction of speed limits in urban areas, where car-to-cyclist collisions occurred was studied. Following that, injury severity for cyclists was evaluated regarding collisions occurring in areas with different speed limits.

Results: The results show that, in collisions with cars, cyclists have a significantly lower risk of a moderate-to-fatal (MAIS 2+) injury when the speed limit is 30–40?km/h compared to 50–60?km/h. During the last decade, while the speed-limit has been lowered on many road-sections in urban areas from 50–60?km/h to 30–40?km/h the risk of a cyclist getting a MAIS 2+ injury decreased by 25%. In 2005 to 2011, 16% of the crashes happened on a road with a speed limit of 30–40?km/h; in 2016–2017, this percentage had increased to approximately 50%. Thus, in recent years more crashes occurred on roads with lower speed limits, and in these crashes, there was a lower risk of severe injuries to cyclists. Unfortunately, it was not possible to evaluate the risk of a crash for specific speed limits; since one limitation of this study was the lack of exposure data, nor do we know the impact speed or the actual speed of the vehicles.

Conclusions: This study is an important follow-up on the implementation of measures that can influence bicycle safety. The insurance data used, made it possible to quantify a positive effect on injury severity for cyclists in passenger car-to-cyclist collisions when the speed limit was reduced in urban areas. Insurance claims cover collisions of all crash severity, so they include data covering all types of injuries—not just the most severe/fatal ones. This aspect is especially important in the speed intervals evaluated here, since moderate (MAIS 2) injuries are very frequent in lower-speed crashes and even these injuries can result in long-term consequences.     

Road accident fatality risks for “vulnerable” versus “protected” road users in northern Ghana

Background: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a serious epidemic that claims more than a million lives across the globe each year. The burden of RTIs is particularly pronounced in Africa and other low- and middle-income countries. The unfavorable disparity of the burden of road trauma in the world is largely attributable to unsafe vehicles, lack of appropriate road infrastructure, and the predominance of vulnerable road users (VRUs) in developing countries. However, little research exists in northern Ghana to highlight the scale and risk of death among road users.

Objective: The objective of this research was to establish the relative risk of death among road users in northern Ghana.

Methods: Crash data from police reports between 2007 and 2011 were analyzed for the Upper Regions of Ghana. Conditional probabilities and multivariable logistic regression techniques were used to report proportions and adjusted odds ratios (AORs), respectively.

Results: Generally, crashes in northern Ghana were extremely severe; that is, 35% of all injury related collisions were fatal. The proportion of fatal casualties ranged between 21% among victims of sideswipe collisions and 41% among pedestrians and victims of rear-end collisions. Though males were 6 times more likely to die than females overall, females were more likely to die as pedestrians (90% of all female casualty deaths) and males were more likely to die as riders/drivers (78% of all male casualty deaths). Pedestrians were 3 times more likely to die (odds ratio [OR] = 3.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.4 to 4.1) compared with drivers/riders. Compared with drivers, the odds of death among cyclists was about 4 times higher (AOR = 3.6; 95% CI, 2.3 to 5.6) and about 2 times higher among motorcyclists (AOR = 1.6; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.2). Compared with casualties aged between 30 and 59 years, children under 10 years and those aged 60 years and above were independently 2 times more likely to die in traffic collisions.

Conclusion: Provision of requisite road infrastructure is vital for the safety of VRUs in northern Ghana. Cycle paths and lanes (for cyclists) as well as sidewalks (for pedestrians) in particular will separate VRUs from motorists and improve their safety. Enforcement of traffic laws particularly regarding helmet use, speeding, and alcohol use will be beneficial. Introduction of the demerit points system in the enforcement of traffic regulations may have significant deterrent effects on road users who have the penchant for violating traffic regulations. Road safety education is also required to create responsible road users.     

Features of fatal injuries in older cyclists in vehicle–bicycle accidents in Japan

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify and better understand the features of fatal injuries in cyclists aged 75 years and over involved in collisions with either hood- or van-type vehicles.

Methods: This study investigated the fatal injuries of cyclists aged 75 years old and over by analyzing accident data. We focused on the body regions to which the fatal injury occurred using vehicle–bicycle accident data from the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA) in Japan. Using data from 2009 to 2013, we examined the frequency of fatally injured body region by gender, age, and actual vehicle travel speed. We investigated any significant differences in distributions of fatal injuries by body region for cyclists aged 75 years and over using chi-square tests to compare with cyclists in other age groups. We also investigated the cause of fatal head injuries, such as impact with a road surface or vehicle.

Results: The results indicated that head injuries were the most common cause of fatalities among the study group. At low vehicle travel speeds for both hood- and van-type vehicles, fatalities were most likely to be the result of head impacts against the road surface.

The percentage of fatalities following hip injuries was significantly higher for cyclists aged 75 years and over than for those aged 65–74 or 13–59 in impacts with hood-type vehicles. It was also higher for women than men in the over-75 age group in impacts with these vehicles.

Conclusions: For cyclists aged 75 years and over, wearing a helmet may be helpful to prevent head injuries in vehicle-to-cyclist accidents. It may also be helpful to introduce some safety measures to prevent hip injuries, given the higher level of fatalities following hip injury among all cyclists aged 75 and over, particularly women.     

Recent trends and demographics of pedestrians injured in collisions with cyclists

Introduction: Despite extensive media coverage of pedestrians who are injured in collisions with cyclists, little systematic inquiry has been carried out on this topic. This study examines the incidence of pedestrian injuries due to collisions with cyclists in the United States and in New York State and New York City (NYC) from 2005 to 2018. Method: The study rests on national data derived from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) and state and local data gathered by the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS). A negative binomial regression analysis was performed on the state and local data to measure the simultaneous effects of demographic variables on the incidence of pedestrian injuries. The study also mapped the incidence of injuries in NYC neighborhoods. Results: Pedestrian injuries due to collisions with cyclists declined at both the national and state and local levels from 2005 to 2018. The decline was particularly pronounced among school-aged children. In NYC, the distribution of injuries was concentrated in certain neighborhoods. Conclusions: Possible explanations for the decline in injuries include the change in the age composition of NYC’s population, the greater level of physical inactivity among school-aged children, stricter enforcement of traffic laws, and, importantly, improvements in the cycling infrastructure. Practical Applications: Cycling as a mode of transportation is continuing to grow in popularity, particularly in large cities in the United States and Europe. With this upsurge in popularity, it is important to create a safe environment for all road users. Improvements in the cycling infrastructure (especially the installation of protected bike lanes) reduce hazards not only to cyclists but to pedestrians as well.     

Effect of the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law on mortality due to road traffic accidents according to the type of victim,sex, and age in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil: An interrupted time series study

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the effect of the Brazilian zero-tolerance drinking and driving law on mortality rates due to road traffic accidents according to the type of victim, sex, and age.

Methods: An interrupted time series design was used to compare yearly mortality rates due to road traffic accidents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before and after the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law came into effect on June 19, 2008. Yearly mortality rates were compared according to the type of victim: pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist, and vehicle occupant. We used the Prais-Winsten procedure of autoregression in the analysis of time series; the outcome of this analysis was the annual percentage change in the rates. Overall and stratified analyses were conducted to investigate whether the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law may have had a distributional effect on mortality rates due to road traffic accidents depending on sex and age group; a significance level of P < .01 was accepted.

Results: From 1999 to 2016, there were 15,629 deaths due to road traffic accidents in Rio de Janeiro. The effect of the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law on overall mortality rates due to road traffic accidents in Rio de Janeiro was not statistically significant. However, among cyclists and motorcyclists aged ≥60 years and among pedestrians of both sexes and aged ≥20 years, the effect of the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law was to decrease mortality due to road traffic accidents at a yearly rate.

Conclusion: There is evidence of reduced mortality rates due to road traffic accidents among cyclists and motorcyclists aged ≥60 years and among pedestrians of both sexes aged ≥20 years in the second major Brazilian capital 9 years after the zero-tolerance drinking and driving law was adopted.