Jenny Eriksson, a researcher at VTI and one of the authors of the report, presented the new research findings at Transportforum, a conference held in Linköping, Sweden, in January.

"Other important initiatives in addition to increased helmet use include preventing collisions by separating bicycle and motor vehicle traffic, building safe overpasses for cyclists and equipping cars with emergency brakes and/or external airbags," reports Eriksson.

The report, authored along with VTI researcher Anna Niska, shows that roughly 90 percent of all cycling accidents in which cyclists sustain a serious injury occur in urban areas. They happen mainly in the morning and afternoon, which are also the periods with the highest number of cycle journeys. Eight out of ten cyclists who are seriously injured experience a solo accident, while just over one in ten experience a collision with a motor vehicle. The most common causes of solo accidents are related to operation and maintenance.

Based on the known causes of accidents, the measures with the greatest potential to reduce the large number of seriously injured cyclists are improved efforts to prevent slippery roads, winter tyres for bicycles and the use of cycling helmets and protective jackets/trousers. Other important measures include removing loose gravel, maintaining bare ground properly and adjusting kerbstones. Many serious accidents could also be prevented by equipping bicycles with ABS brakes or the like, stabilising bicycles at low speed and when climbing on/off, having working lights and reflectors, and performing bicycle inspections to rectify any defects before they result in an accident.

More information

VTI Report 801. Cyclist accident statistics. Background information to the common policy strategy for safe cycling.

Photo: VTI / Hejdlösa bilder