Early 2007 a report was published about the developments in the number of traffic injured who are admitted to hospital (Van Kampen, 2007). It mentions two alarming developments for cyclists who are admitted to hospital after a crash: 1) their number is increasing steadily, and 2) their injury severity is hardly decreasing, contrary to that of injured car occupants. This study has attempted to find an explanation for these developments among cyclists admitted to hospital. Data about cyclist injuries from the National Medical Registration (LMR) has been used for detailed analysis. A distinction was made between injured cyclists in crashes with a motorized vehicle as a crash opponent, the motor vehicle crashes, and those in crashes in which no motor vehicle was involved, the non-motor vehicle crashes. An estimated 70% of the crashes in the latter category are single vehicle crashes, crashes without a crash opponent, but this category also contains the bicycle-bicycle and the bicycle-pedestrian crashes.
Abstract