Dataset Information

Cyclists injured in traffic crashes in Hong Kong: A call for action.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Perceived as a minor transportation mode mainly for recreation, cycling and its related safety issues have not been treated as a citywide concern in Hong Kong and have thus received inadequate research efforts. Our study aimed to illuminate the safety challenges faced by cyclists in Hong Kong. METHODS:We examined the police crash records from 1998 to 2017 and developed a Bayesian Poisson state space model to evaluate the longitudinal change in traffic injuries to cyclists. We then used quasi-induced exposure to measure the annual relative risk of crash involvement for cycling. Based on an officially published travel characteristics survey, we further measured the risk of injury for cycling per minutes cycled. RESULTS:Between 1998 and 2017, Hong Kong witnessed a more than twofold increase in the number of cyclist injuries, with an average annual increase rate of 5.18% (95% CI: 0.53%-12.77%). By 2017, cyclists were 2.21 (1.82-2.69) times more likely to be involved in traffic crashes than in 1998. Per 10 million minutes, the injury rates for cycling were 28.64 (27.43-29.70) and 42.54 (41.07-44.02) on weekdays during 2001-2003 and 2010-2012. After adjusting for sex and age groups, cyclists were 1.95 (1.43-2.61) times more likely to be injured in 2010-2012 than in 2001-2003. Per minutes traveled, cyclists also sustained significantly higher risks of fatality and injury than pedestrians, private car drivers and passengers, taxi passengers, public bus passengers, and minibus passengers. A comparison of Hong Kong with other regions suggests that Hong Kong is among the most dangerous areas for cycling in terms of fatality rate per minutes cycled. CONCLUSIONS:Cyclist injuries have become a substantial public health burden in Hong Kong. A range of countermeasures with proven effectiveness should be promptly implemented to improve the safety of these vulnerable road users.

SUBMITTER: Xu P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6688837 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cyclists injured in traffic crashes in Hong Kong: A call for action.

Xu Pengpeng P Dong Ni N Wong S C SC Huang Helai H

PloS one 20190809 8

<h4>Background</h4>Perceived as a minor transportation mode mainly for recreation, cycling and its related safety issues have not been treated as a citywide concern in Hong Kong and have thus received inadequate research efforts. Our study aimed to illuminate the safety challenges faced by cyclists in Hong Kong.<h4>Methods</h4>We examined the police crash records from 1998 to 2017 and developed a Bayesian Poisson state space model to evaluate the longitudinal change in traffic injuries to cyclis ...[more]

PMID: 31398211

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Project description:BackgroundUndisputedly, traffic crashes constitute a public health concern whose impact and importance have been increasing during the past few decades. Specifically, road safety data have systematically shown how cyclists are highly vulnerable to suffering traffic crashes and severe injuries derived from them. Furthermore, although the empirical evidence is still very limited in this regard, in addition to other human factors involved in cycling crashes, distractions while cycling appear to be a major contributor to the road risk of cyclists.ObjectivesThe main objectives of this study were, first, to explore the prevalence and trends of cycling distractions within an international sample of bike users, and second, to determine the influence of such distractions on road crashes suffered by cyclists, simultaneously considering the explanatory role of risky behaviors (errors and traffic violations) as potentially mediating variables between cycling distractions and traffic crashes.MethodsFor this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the data obtained from 1,064 cyclists-61.2% male and 38.8% female-from 20 different countries, who answered an on-line questionnaire on cycling-related features, habits, behaviors and accidents.ResultsThe prevalence of different cycling distractions oscillated between 34.7% and 83.6%. The most common distractions were those related to the behavior of other users, physical elements of the road, weather conditions and phone calls. Age trends and differences were also found, thus establishing a positive association between age and distractibility during cycling. Furthermore, the effect of distractions on traffic crashes of cyclists was significant when tested together with age, risk perception and risky behaviors on the road.ConclusionThe results of this study support the hypotheses that distractions have a major prevalence among bike users, and that they play a significant role in the prediction of the traffic crash rates of cyclists, through the mediation of risky behaviors.

Project description:Importance:Cataracts are the most common cause of impaired vision worldwide and may increase a driver's risk of a serious traffic crash. The potential benefits of cataract surgery for reducing a patient's subsequent risk of traffic crash are uncertain. Objective:To conduct a comprehensive longitudinal analysis testing whether cataract surgery is associated with a reduction in serious traffic crashes where the patient was the driver. Design, Setting, and Participants:Population-based individual-patient self-matching exposure-crossover design in Ontario, Canada, between April 1, 2006, and March 31, 2016. Consecutive patients 65 years and older undergoing cataract surgery (n?=?559?546). Interventions:First eye cataract extraction surgery (most patients received second eye soon after). Main Outcomes and Measures:Emergency department visit for a traffic crash as a driver. Results:Of the 559?546 patients, mean (SD) age was 76 (6) years, 58% were women (n?=?326?065), and 86% lived in a city (n?=?481?847). A total of 4680 traffic crashes (2.36 per 1000 patient-years) accrued during the 3.5-year baseline interval and 1200 traffic crashes (2.14 per 1000 patient-years) during the 1-year subsequent interval, representing 0.22 fewer crashes per 1000 patient-years following cataract surgery (odds ratio [OR], 0.91; 95% CI, 0.84-0.97; P?=?.004). The relative reduction included patients with diverse characteristics. No significant reduction was observed in other outcomes, such as traffic crashes where the patient was a passenger (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.96-1.12) or pedestrian (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.88-1.17), nor in other unrelated serious medical emergencies. Patients with younger age (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.13-1.14), male sex (OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.46-1.85), a history of crash (baseline OR, 2.79; 95% CI, 1.94-4.02; induction OR, 4.26; 95% CI, 2.01-9.03), more emergency visits (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.19-1.52), and frequent outpatient physician visits (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.01-1.36) had higher risk of subsequent traffic crashes (multivariable model). Conclusions and Relevance:This study suggests that cataract surgery is associated with a modest decrease in a patient's subsequent risk of a serious traffic crash as a driver, which has potential implications for mortality, morbidity, and costs to society.

Dataset Information

Cyclists injured in traffic crashes in Hong Kong: A call for action.

Publications

Cyclists injured in traffic crashes in Hong Kong: A call for action.

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