As compared with 183 injured bicyclists recorded by the police during 1996, 1,541 were recorded in the Rhone Road Crash Trauma Registry (France), which includes, for each road crash casualty, the data provided by all the medical and surgical trauma emergency or care services concerned. The underestimation by the police is especially large for bicyclists. The severity of injuries increases with age. Body regions most often injured are the upper (54% of casualties) and lower limbs (35%), the face (28%) and the head (20%). This body region distribution depends on age. 50% of Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 3 injuries are open or displaced fractures of the upper limb. Nearly all AIS 4+ injuries are head injuries. Because of the exhaustiveness of the Registry, injuries to bicyclists show their real extent in comparison with other user types. (A)
Samenvatting