Police-reported data, hospital admissions data and a community survey were used to calculate a `best' estimate of the number of pedal cyclists injured in crashes in Western Australia by injury severity level. According to this estimate, there were 38,982 pedal cyclists injured or killed in crashes over one year in Western Australia. Of these, 0.02% were fatalities, 2.4% were injured severely enough to be hospitalised, 34.3% required medical attention, and 63.3% needed other treatment. In comparison, the police data recorded only 868 injured pedal cyclists during this period. Reporting rates of injuries to the police were shown to fall as the level of injury severity sustained by pedal cyclists declined. A comparison pedal cyclists declined. A comparison of reporting rates for pedal cyclists and other road users suggested that the under-reporting of injuries to pedal cyclists was more serious than the average for all road users. It was shown that if police data were used as the basis on which to calculate the costs of bicycle crashes or the cost-effectiveness of bicycle safety programs, then the costs of injuries to pedal cyclists would be seriously underestimated and potentially effective bicycle safety interventions might not be implemented. (A)
Abstract