@RISK : analysis of the risk of serious or fatal injuries in traffic according to age and mode of transport. This study calculates the risks of serious and fatal injuries in traffic for different transportation modes (pedestrians, cyclists, motor bike riders, drivers and passengers in cars and users of trams and buses) and for different age groups (6-14; 15-17; 18-24; 25-44; 45-64; 65-74; and over 75). The results provide answers to questions such as: is it safer to travel 10 kilometres by car than by bike? What is more dangerous: walking 10 minutes or driving a car for 10 minutes? Who runs a greater risk of being seriously injured in an accident involving a bicycle, an old person or a child? Which is the most dangerous form of travel? And which is the safest? A risk is always present when there is the possibility of something undesirable happening (in this case being seriously wounded or even being killed in a traffic accident). Risks are calculated per unit of exposure to this risk. The most important estimate of exposure is the distance travelled in traffic. So, for instance we compare the danger of being seriously injured on a 10-kilometre journey by bike with the same distance travelled by car. Knowledge about these risks is particularly useful when looking at changing forms of transport because it provides an insight into the effect on road safety if part of a journey is made using a different form of transport. This report therefore focuses on the risk of moving from one place to another, the risk per kilometre travelled. However, the study also looks into the risk of being present in traffic (the risk per minute). The main focus of this report, in accordance with European developments, is the risk of serious and fatal injuries. Serious injuries are defined, according to the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale, as injuries with a MAIS score of 3 or more. These include injuries resulting in long-term (sometimes life-long) physical or mental limitations for the victims. A new aspect compared to current practices is that we take all victims into who are hospital bound with serious injuries or who die on the spot, thus correcting the under-registration of injured victims by the police. In this study we also calculate the risk of fatal accidents separately. In a nutshell, risks are calculated according to travel behaviour (the distances covered and the amount of time spent in traffic) as well as the transportation mode and the age of the victims of traffic accidents. (Author/publisher)
Abstract