From bicycle crashes to measures: knowledge and knowledge gaps; Inventory for the benefit of the National Research Agenda Bicycle Safety (NOaF). Road safety of cyclists shows a less favourable development than that of other road users. As bicycle use will be stimulated in years to come and because the number of elderly cyclists will increase, it is important to improve bicycle safety. To achieve this, the Netherlands has drawn up the National Research Agenda Bicycle Safety (NOaF). The present study maps the existing knowledge about the development of unsafe cycling conditions and its backgrounds; on the one hand to use scientific knowledge as a contribution to a goal-oriented approach and on the other to identify areas in which the necessary scientific knowledge is still lacking. In addition to a comprehensive summary in the first chapter, this study comprises three parts. Part I gives insight in the magnitude, nature and development of unsafe cycling conditions in the Netherlands during the last two decades. Part II discusses the knowledge from international scientific research to acquire an insight in the causes of these crashes. Three lines of approach are distinguished: the cyclist and the other road users, the bicycle, and the infrastructure. Part III makes an inventory of the effects of the measures that have already been taken, and then looks ahead at the threats and opportunities that bicycle safety may face. The study concludes that compared with the extensive knowledge about the safety of motorized traffic, bicycle safety is mainly ‘terra incognita’.
Abstract