Looking for information on bike-related injuries?
Here are some basics:
- About 50% of bike crashes are falls (cyclist alone)
- About 25% of bike crashes involve a motor vehicle
- About 25% of bike crashes are caused in other ways
These are statistics that apply to cycling on roads and paved trails. Off -road mountain biking statistics have not been kept systematically. Most mountain bikers will tell you, though, that they wouldn't head out on the trail without a bike helmet. The nature of the sport means there is a high probability of falling.
There are a number of good websites that will give you the latest results:
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation publishes an annual report on road safety called the Ontario Road Safety Annual Report. The report can be viewed on the Ministry's website.
The medical journal PEDIATRICS published a comparison of bicycle-related head injury rates in provinces with or without mandatory helmet legislation in November 2002: "Impact of Mandatory Helmet Legislation on Bicycle-Related Head Injuries in Children: A Population-Based Study".
The study, led by Dr. Brian Rowe, of bicycle-related deaths in Ontario between 1986 and 1991 drew a very clear picture of the way cyclists were being killed in Ontario, and provided a useful foundation for the development of cycling safety policy. The abstract is available on-line at the Canadian Medical Association website.
Effect of legislation on the use of bicycle helmets, March 2002, Canadian Medical Association Journal, looks at the effects of bike helmet use before and after legislation, and the resulting reported injury rates. It can be viewed at the Canadian Medical Association website. The Ontario Coroner's Review of Cycling Safety, 1998 can be viewed through the City of Toronto's website.
