The number of bicyclists treated at the Odense University Hospital emergency room for injuries following road traffic accidents with a counterpart increased by 90% in the 1980-1990 period. In this period, the overall bicycle traffic intensity remained nearly the same. However, the motor vehicle traffic intensity increased. The objective of this study was to reveal factors in the development of bicycle accidents which might explain the increase in bicycle collision accidents. Another objective was to examine whether the official road traffic accident statistics gave a true picture of the accident development compared to the emergency room data. The largest part of the increase in bicycle collision accidents was caused by the number of collisions with other bicyclists, and with motor vehicles. The 20-29 year-old bicyclists caused the largest part of the increase in the number of accidents. The decrease in serious lesions was accompanied by a smaller hospitalization rate. However, the localization of the injuries, according to body regions, did not change. The percentage of collision accidents reported by the police decreased significantly, even when the minor injury accidents were excluded.
Abstract