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Tram tracks and slippery slopes – combining hospital and survey data to map risk factors for on- and offroad

Authors: Hanne Beate Sundfør, Torkel Bjørnskau
Report nr: 8576/2017
Language: English

It is well known that bicycle accidents with personal injury are poorly registered in official records. In particular, single accidents are underreported. Hence, there is a knowledge gap concerning factors that contribute to single bicycle accidents. In order to calculate risk, travel behavior data are often used to account for exposure. However, off-road cycling is seldom registered in such surveys. Thus risk assessments are done only on part of the exposure. The aim of the study is to investigate how infrastructure factors contribute to accidents, both in traffic and off-road. A secondary aim is to investigate risk differences between on- and offroad cycling. The Emergency unit in Oslo, Norway, registered all bicycle accidents in 2014 (N=1972). We use these data, and a survey among a sample of bicyclists in Oslo (N=2462), to explore the characteristics and severity of bicycle accidents. Exposure measures are collected through a travel diary. Initial results show that 80% of the accidents happened when cycling in traffic and 20% when cycling off-road. Slip and tip over was the most common reason for all accidents. Off-road, riding into an obstacle accounted for 18% of the accidents. In many cities tram tracks can be found in close proximity to cycling infrastructure. Our results show that tram tracks are accountable for 7.5 – 8.4% of the accidents in traffic. In order to estimate the risks associated with tram tracks and off road cycling, risk levels will be calculated and presented at the conference.

      

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