Injuries to Bicyclists
From a Monograph by the Johns Hopkins Injury Prevention Center
Sponsored by the Snell Memorial Foundation
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Each year in the United States:
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more than 900 bicyclists are killed
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20,000 are admitted to hospitals
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580,000 receive emergency room treatment
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For the population as a whole, there are approximately:
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1.8 billion bicycle trips
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300 injuries per million trips
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1 death in every 2 million trips (0.5 per million)
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Helmets are needed because head injuries in bicyclists are noted in:
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65,000 emergency room cases and 7,700 hospital admissions annually
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about 40% of bicyclists admitted to hospitals
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an estimated 70% to 80% of fatally injured bicyclists
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Bicyclists hospitalized with head injuries are 20 times as likely to die
as those without.
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Bicyclist injury rates per million trips are highest at age 5-15.
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Bicyclist death rates per million trips are highest above age 50.
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Bicyclist death rates per 100,000 population are highest at age 10-14.
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56% of fatally injured bicyclists art: age 20 or older.
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Death rates for male bicyclists age 20-54 have substantially increased
in recent years.
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Compared with females, males:
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make 2.5 times as many bicycle trips
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are 2.4 times as likely to be killed. per trip
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have a death rate per 100,000 population that is 6 times as high
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The death rate per million trips is 8 times as high from 10 pm - 1 am as
from 9 am -1 pm.
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Motor vehicles are involved in 90-92% of bicyclist deaths and 12% of injuries.
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One third of bicyclist fatalities occur on roads with speed limits of 55
mph or higher.
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Two-thirds of fatally injured bicyclists are tested for alcohol; 32% of
those tested have been drinking.
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Bicyclist death rates per trip or per person mile of travel greatly exceed
the rates for car occupants
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