RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Risk of injury for bicycling on cycle tracks versus in the street JF Injury Prevention JO Inj Prev FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP ip.2010.028696 DO 10.1136/ip.2010.028696 A1 Anne C Lusk A1 Peter G Furth A1 Patrick Morency A1 Luis F Miranda-Moreno A1 Walter C Willett A1 Jack T Dennerlein YR 2011 UL http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2011/02/02/ip.2010.028696.abstract AB Most individuals prefer bicycling separated from motor traffic. However, cycle tracks (physically separated bicycle-exclusive paths along roads, as found in The Netherlands) are discouraged in the USA by engineering guidance that suggests that facilities such as cycle tracks are more dangerous than the street. The objective of this study conducted in Montreal (with a longstanding network of cycle tracks) was to compare bicyclist injury rates on cycle tracks versus in the street. For six cycle tracks and comparable reference streets, vehicle/bicycle crashes and health record injury counts were obtained and use counts conducted. The relative risk (RR) of injury on cycle tracks, compared with reference streets, was determined. Overall, 2.5 times as many cyclists rode on cycle tracks compared with reference streets and there were 8.5 injuries and 10.5 crashes per million bicycle-kilometres. The RR of injury on cycle tracks was 0.72 (95% CI 0.60 to 0.85) compared with bicycling in reference streets. These data suggest that the injury risk of bicycling on cycle tracks is less than bicycling in streets. The construction of cycle tracks should not be discouraged.