Figure 4 shows the 2022 age distribution for serious road injuries, based on the hospital discharge register (LBZ). An ever-growing share of serious injuries is sustained by older road users. In 2022, 58% (about 4,500) of the hospital-registered seriously injured road users were aged 60 or over, while in 2014 this had amounted to 51% (about 2,800). The growing share is related to demographic developments, but the share of older road users sustaining serious injuries grows faster than their share of the population. Older people are physically more vulnerable, also see SWOV fact sheet Older road users. Among older seriously injured road users, the share of (pedelec) cyclists exceeds that of other age groups.
In 2022, children made up around 3% (about 200) of the hospital-registered serious road injuries; in 2014 this was about 6% (about 300). Also see SWOV fact sheet Children aged 0 to 14. Most children are injured while cycling or walking.
In 2022, 61% (about 4,800) of the LBZ-registered serious road injuries were male and 39% (about 3,100) were female. In general, women are more often injured in crashes not involving a motor vehicle than men are. This partly relates to mobility differences between men and women: men drive more, women more often walk [12].
