Risk of Road Traffic Injuries for Pedestrians, Cyclists, Car Occupants and Powered Two‐Wheel Users, based on a Road Trauma Registry and Travel Surveys, Rhône, France

Blaizot, Stéphanie; Papon, Francis; Mouloud Haddak, Mohamed; Amoros, Emmanuelle · 2016 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1002/9781119307853.ch5

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Summary

This study estimates and compares road traffic injury risks for pedestrians, cyclists, car occupants, and powered two-wheel (PTW) users in the Rhône department of France. The research was motivated by the need for accurate risk assessments to support sustainable transport policies, particularly the promotion of cycling, and to address the significant under-reporting of cyclist crashes in police data. By utilizing a comprehensive medical trauma registry alongside travel surveys, the authors aimed to provide more precise injury rates than those derived from police records alone. The methodology combined data from the Rhône Road Trauma Registry, which records all casualties receiving medical care, with regional travel surveys conducted in 2005–2006. To ensure year-round exposure estimates, the winter-specific travel data were adjusted using seasonality ratios derived from national surveys. Injury rates were calculated per million trips, kilometers, and hours traveled, with time spent traveling favored as the most relevant exposure metric. The analysis categorized injuries into all-injury, hospitalization, and serious injury (Abbreviated Injury Scale score 3+), examining variations by gender, age, and location density. Trends were also analyzed by comparing 2005–2006 data with a 1994–1995 survey. The results revealed substantial disparities in risk relative to car occupants. Per million hours traveled, PTW riders faced a 42-fold higher all-injury rate and a 120-fold higher serious-injury rate. Cyclists experienced an 8-fold higher all-injury rate and a 16-fold higher serious-injury rate. Pedestrians had a lower all-injury rate (half that of car occupants) but a two-fold higher serious-injury rate. The 18–25 age group exhibited the highest injury ratios across car occupants, pedestrians, and cyclists. Notably, cyclists showed higher injury rates in non-dense areas compared to dense urban areas, likely due to higher vehicle speeds. Between 1996–1997 and 2005–2006, injury rates decreased for car occupants and cyclists, with the decline being more pronounced for cyclists, suggesting a "safety in numbers" effect. The study concludes that PTW riders face an excessively high risk that current countermeasures may not fully mitigate. The findings challenge the assumption that urban cycling is inherently more dangerous than rural cycling, highlighting speed as a critical factor in non-dense areas. The research underscores the superiority of medical registries over police data for capturing cyclist injuries and provides essential evidence for targeted road safety interventions, particularly for young adults and vulnerable road users.

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Topics

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• incidence prevalence
• exposure measurement
• induced exposure
• fatality injury trends
• vru crash typology
• comparative international

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes, observational prevalence