Physical inactivity increases the risk of multiple diseases with extensive personal and societal effects [1]. For instance, the annual economic cost of physical inactivity is estimated to be more than 80 billion euros in the European Union (EU) [2]. One measure to increase physical activity is the promotion of active transport modes, such as cycling. Finland is aiming to increase the mode share of active transport modes to 35-38% by 2030 [3]. In tbe most recent national travel survey 8% of daily trips were made by bicycle and 22% of daily trips involved walking [ 4]. A shift from cars to more sustainable transport modes is desirable, however more work is needed to promote cycling safety, with cyclists over-represented in fatal (11%) and serious injuries (32%) when compared to mode share [5]. Amongst cyclist crashes in Finland, single-bicycle crashes (SBCs), where other road users are not collided with, represent more than half of non-fatal injuries [6-7] and 46% of fatal injuries [8--9]. This proportion of non-fatal injuries is similar to findings from other jurisdictions [6]. However, the rate of fatal injuries in SBCs is substantially higher in Finland compared to the average rate in Europe [10], highlighting the importance of understanding SBCs in a Finnish context. Analyses of SBCs are usually more challenging than crashes between bicycles and motor vehicles because SBCs are typically underreported in police-reported crash data [11]. However, in Finland, road crash investigation teams investigate almost all fatal road crashes, including SBCs. This captures high-quality information on SBCs including their contributory and background risk factors, as well as safety recommendations. Identifying the contributory factors that enable the occurrence of crashes and implementing actions to prevent these crashes can help promote cycling safety [ 12]. Such analyses and actions are particularly needed in Finland, where there are targets to increase the mode share of cycling. Given the robust data available through the in-depth investigations undertaken in Finland, this study aims to increase knowledge on SBCs and their safety recommendations by analysing data on fatal cycling crashes in Finland. The study compares the key characteristics, risk factors and safety recommendations regarding SBCs and other cyclist crashes. Although the data for this study is sourced from Finland, the findings are useful in other countries with similar bicycle infrastructure and weather conditions. [From: Introduction]
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:82467 |
| Date | 19 December 2022 |
| Creators | Utriainen, Roni, Pöllänen, Markus, O'Hern, Steve, Sihvola, Niina |
| Publisher | Technische Universität Dresden |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | doc-type:conferenceObject, info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceObject, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa2-813602, qucosa:81360 |
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