The Dutch Bicycle Master Plan was launched in the year 1990 and concluded in 1996. To mark its conclusion, a study was carried out to assess road safety developments for cyclists. Three periods are distinguished: 1950-1975: an increase in the number of deaths, mainly among young and old cyclists; 1975-1990: a decline in the number of deaths among cyclists per distance cycled; and 1990-1995: the number of injured cyclists remains stable, in general; the number of deaths per distance cycled falls more slowly than before. In the last few years, road injury registrations have become more comprehensive. They reveal that more than 60,000 cyclists are injured and require First Aid each year; 6,500 of them are admitted to hospital, and over 250 succumb to their injuries. The ratio of deaths among cyclists to distance cycled contains a very high proportion of older people. Measures to prevent serious injury as a result of collisions between bicycles and cars focus mainly on road system changes, such as those included in the recent proposals for a `sustainably safe' traffic system. Even such a system must be backed up by a behaviour code and supplementary measures in the form of education, instruction and public information campaigns.
Abstract