Half a million bicyclists injured in crashes visit emergency departments and even more receive minor injuries that do not require emergent care each year in the United States, but little is known about contributors to the crashes. The purpose of this study is to describe the methods of a naturalistic bicycling study that allows for the examination of bicyclist risk exposure, including factors such as route choice, use of bicycle-specific infrastructure, and rider errors. We enrolled 10 adults (5 male, 5 female) and 10 children (5 male, 5 female) aged 10 to 14 years old between August and October of 2013. Each participant in our Portable Video and Data System for Assessing Rider Locomotion (Pedal PORTAL) study was equipped with a helmet-mounted, GPS-enabled, forward-facing camera. Eligible participants lived in Johnson County, Iowa, and rode their bicycles at least four times per week. Participants completed baseline demographic questionnaires, recorded all their bicycle trips for seven consecutive days, and completed trip diaries, which included trip purpose and descriptions of any near crashes or crashes. Data collection and data processing protocols are described. Characteristics of 261 bicycling trips (57 hours, 670 miles), including rider error, crash, and near crash rates are also presented. (Author/publisher)
Abstract