BRIEF REPORT

Cyclists injured while sharing the road with motor vehicles

Tadesse Haileyesus¹, Joseph L Annest¹ and Ann M Dellinger²

¹ Office of Statistics and Programming, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
² Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
J L Annest
Office of Statistics and Programming, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway (MS K59), Atlanta, GA 30340, USA; lannest{at}cdc.gov

Objective: To provide national estimates of non-fatal cyclist injuries treated in US hospital emergency departments (EDs) resulting from an encounter with a motor vehicle (MV) on the road.

Methods: Non-fatal injury data for 2001–4 from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program were analyzed.

Results: An estimated 62 267 persons (21.5 per 100 000 population; 95% CI 14.3 to 28.7) were treated annually in US hospital EDs for unintentional non-fatal cyclist injuries involving an MV on the road. Among these cases, children aged 10–14 years (65.8 per 100 000) and males (35.3 per 100 000) had the highest injury rates. Many injuries involved the extremities (41.9%). The head was the primary body part affected for 38.6% of hospitalized/transferred patients, of which about 84.7% had a principal diagnosis of a concussion or internal head injury.

Conclusions: Effective road environmental interventions (eg, bicycle-friendly roadway design, intersections and crossings) along with efforts to promote safe personal behavior (eg, helmet use and following rules of the road) are needed to help reduce injuries among cyclists while sharing the road.

Abbreviations: ED, emergency department; NEISS-AIP, National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program; MV, motor vehicles

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