214357 Injuries to Adult Cyclists: Describing the Circumstances as a First Step Towards Injury Prevention

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Theresa Frendo , Environmental Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Meghan Winters, MSc , School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Shelina Babul, PhD , School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Jeff Brubacher, MD , Emergency Department, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Mary Chipman, MSc , Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Peter Cripton, PhD , Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Michael Cusimano, MD , School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Steven Marc Friedman, MD, MPH , Faculty of Medicine & Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
M. Anne Harris, MSc , School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Kishore Mulpuri, MD , Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Conor Reynolds, MSc , Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Kay Teschke, PhD , School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Bicycling is a sustainable transportation mode with population and individual health benefits, but the risk of injury deters many people. We are conducting a multicenter study to characterize injury mechanism among injured cyclists from 2 urban areas. Adult cyclists who visit emergency departments in 3 Toronto and 2 Vancouver hospitals are recruited and interviewed about their injury trip and circumstances. Here we report descriptive data and comparisons between cities on the circumstances of the first 300 injury events, 150 in each city. Injury mechanism was broadly classified as collision in 213 cases (70.9%; 95% CI 65.9-76.1%) or fall in 87 (29.1%; 23.9-34.1%). Collisions involved motor vehicles in 102 cases (34.1% of all events; 28.6-39.4%), streetcar tracks in 46 (15.4%; 10.9-19.0%), curbs, fences, or barriers in 38 (12.7%; 8.3-15.7%), pedestrians or other cyclists in 14 (4.7%; 2.3-7.1%), potholes in 9 (3%; 1.1-4.9%), and animals in 3 (1%; 0-2.1%). Manoeuvres to avoid collisions resulted in 28 falls (9.3% of all events). The proportions of injuries involving motor vehicles were almost identical in the two cities, but the odds of an event involving ‘dooring' were higher in Toronto than Vancouver (OR: 2.83; 95% CI: 1.13-7.02). Toronto events were more likely to involve streetcar tracks (OR: 19.6; 5.9-65.0) and less likely to involve pedestrians or cyclists (OR: 0.33; 0.13-0.83) than those in Vancouver. The injury circumstances and the differences between cities suggest that transportation infrastructure and interactions with motorized and non-motorized traffic are important (and potentially modifiable) factors in cycling injuries.

Learning Objectives:
Identify circumstances of injuries to bicyclists Compare circumstances between cities to demonstrate factors that might be modifiable and preventable

Keywords: Injury Prevention, Sustainability

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I did the main analyses for this paper
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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