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Title:

Bicyclists’ Injuries and the Cycling Environment: The Impact of Route Infrastructure
Cover of Bicyclists’ Injuries and the Cycling Environment: The Impact of Route Infrastructure

Accession Number:

01473543

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

Safety concerns have contributed to low bicycling rates in North America. Injury rates are lower and cycling is more common in northern European countries where route infrastructure is designed for cyclists, yet few studies have examined the relationship between the cycling environment and injuries. A total of 690 people injured while cycling were recruited via emergency departments in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada. Conditional logistic regression compared route infrastructure at each injury site to that of a randomly selected control site from the same trip. The case-crossover design controlled for exposure to risk and for personal characteristics and other factors that are stable within a trip. Of 15 route types, cycle tracks (physically separated paths alongside city streets) had the lowest risk, about 9 times lower than the reference (arterials and collectors with parked cars and no bike infrastructure). Bike lanes on arterials and collectors with no parked cars, local streets, and off street bike paths had 2-fold risk reductions. Risks on arterials and collectors were lower when parked cars were not present. Other infrastructure characteristics were associated with increased risks: downhill grades; streetcar or train tracks; and construction. The results of this study indicate that the design approach used in northern Europe is effective in North America. The following route types are the best choices for common urban transportation locations and would lower injury risks to cyclists: alongside arterials and collectors – cycle tracks; on local streets – designated bikeways with traffic diversion; and off-street – bike paths.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANF20 Bicycle Transportation.

Monograph Accession #:

01470560

Report/Paper Numbers:

13-2995

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Winters, Meghan
Harris, M A
Reynolds, C C O
Cripton, P A
Chipman, M
Cusimano, M D
Brubacher, J
Friedman, S M
Monro, M
Vernich, L
Shen, H
Babul, S
Hunter, G
Teschke, Kay

Pagination:

14p

Publication Date:

2013

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2013-1-13 to 2013-1-17
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; References

Subject Areas:

Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-2995

Files:

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Feb 5 2013 12:36PM