eLetters

172 e-Letters

  • Re:Underscoring the Benefits of Cycle Tracks
    Tony H. Reinhardt-Rutland

    I make brief extra comments in response to Lusk et al.

    It is difficult comparing the poor cycle-specific facilities that I find in Northern Ireland with the lack of cycle-specific facilities typical in the US: neither scenario helps cyclists and any statements about which is to be preferred may never be more than impressionistic.

    However, I would concede that even imperfect cycle-specific facilities pr...

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  • SNAPPING SPEED: THE TOLERATION OF DANGER ON THE ROADS
    Tony H. Reinhardt-Rutland

    Mendivil et al's (1) excellent paper demonstrates the cost-benefits to be derived from investment in speed cameras. It invokes that remarkable Achilles-heel accompanying mass motoring: the toleration of levels of preventable danger that are unacceptable in other transport modes (2).

    Attitudes to speed-cameras may reflect the misplaced suspicion that motorists have long directed to the accuracy of their speedomete...

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  • Updating the international research agenda for sports injury prevention research
    Alex Donaldson

    Dear Editor

    I read with interest Caroline Finch's Online First editorial describing her recent experience of attending and giving a key note address at the third World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport. As someone who also frequently straddles the fields of sports medicine, injury prevention and, more broadly, health promotion, I would like to whole heartedly support Professor Finch's call...

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  • Underscoring the Benefits of Cycle Tracks
    Anne C. Lusk

    We agree with Reinhardt-Rutland's concerns1 about Northern Ireland's poorly designed and policed bicycle facilities but we doubt that the U.S. traditional model of simply treating bicycles as vehicles is better. What works is physically separating bicyclists from fast or heavy motor traffic. Reinhardt-Rutland further suggested that higher fuel costs could effect change where risk assessments have failed. While waiting fo...

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  • Time-exposure drowning rate for swimmers
    Damian Morgan

    Mitchell, Williamson and Olivier's (2010) study estimated drowning rates for the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) in 2005 based on resident population person-time exposure to swimming. The authors state (p. 261) that "failure to adjust injury rates for exposure to a hazard necessarily results in poor estimates of risk", and based on their findings, conclude (p. 264) drowning mortality rates to be "more than 200...

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  • Critique of: "Risk of Injury for Bicycling on Cycle Tracks Versus in the Street"
    Wayne E Pein

    The investigators did not meaningfully compare Relative Bicycling Risk and Relative Traffic Danger for individual pairs. Such a comparison of their data demonstrates that the Apparent Cycle Track Effect was increased Danger to bicyclists at two cycle tracks, Neutrality at two cycle tracks, and increased Safety at two cycle tracks. This contrasts with the investigators' claim that the six cycle tracks had a combined 28% l...

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  • THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DEDICATED CYCLING FACILITIES: PERCEIVED AND OBJECTIVE RISK
    Tony H. Reinhardt-Rutland

    Lusk et al's paper (1) indicates an important subtext regarding travel. Governments wish to make personal mobility as widely available as possible; this inevitably entails promotion of the private automobile, which can provide convenient and comfortable travel for the widest range of individuals, including those for whom disability would otherwise pose severe limitations in participating in society. However, there is a...

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  • Re:Re:Zero Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Limit for drivers under 21
    Robert M> Solomon

    The major problem in enforcing the zero BAC limit is ensuring that the province or territory enacts accompanying legislation authorizing the police to demand a breath sample from drivers subject to this limit. There has been no problem with drivers testing positive with exceedingly small amounts of alcohol in their breath samples, because of natural processes or diet. Presumably, the machines have thresholds to eliminate...

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  • Re:Zero Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Limit for drivers under 21
    Solitay Taiwo

    How easy is it to enforce zero limit in the face of possiblity of physicigical sources of alcohol and uses of other dietry and household sources of alcohol? There might be a lot or few false positive cases as a result. Is there anything of in the scientific evidence base?

    Conflict of Interest:

    None declared

  • Cycle helmet law not properly assessed
    Colin F Clarke

    Reading the article, The effects of provincial bicycle helmet legislation on helmet use and bicycle ridership in Canada (ref 1), it appears the conclusions reached were ill considered and unreliable for a number of reasons.

    The article concludes that helmet legislation is not associated with changes in ridership. This statement is somewhat misleading. Fig 3 in the article shows trends of recreational bicycle u...

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