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Master's lecture in Environmental Engineering - Anna Birna Þorvarðardóttir

Master's lecture in Environmental Engineering - Anna Birna Þorvarðardóttir - Available at University of Iceland
When 
Thu, 28/06/2018 - 16:00 to 17:30
Where 

VR-II

Stofa 147

Further information 
Everybody welcome

Master's student: Anna Birna Þorvarðardóttir

Title: Bicycle crashes in Iceland 2011-2016: Investigating injury severity of bicyclists

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Faculty:  Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Advisor: Dr. Guðmundur Freyr Úlfarsson, Professor and the head of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Other member of the masters committee: Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson, Engineer and Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Examiner: Guðbjörg Lilja Erlendsdóttir, Civil Engineer at Reykjavíkurborg

Abstract

Cycling in Iceland has greatly increased over the last few years with the capital region accounting for most of the growth. A focus is on maintaining and further stimulating this increase through strategic plans that incorporate the further development of ecofriendly transportation. As the number of cyclists has increased so has the number of bicycle crashes. It is therefore important to implement measures that improve road safety for cyclists. This study analysed data from the Icelandic Transport Authority. The organisation is responsible for collecting and registering all traffic and road crashes based on reports they receive from the police. The data analysed was collected between 2011 and 2016, during this period a total of 938 road bike crashes, including 994 cyclists, occurred. The crashes were divided into 4 main categories; fatal injuries, major injuries, minor injuries, and no injuries. This research found that the crash share for cyclists was 0.10% fatal injuries, 17.7% major injuries, 47.2% minor injuries, and 35.0% no injuries. The data indicated that there was an upwards trend in the number of road bike crashes over the time period despite a small decrease in 2015. While the number of crashes where cyclists incurred major injuries were proportionally stable across the period, the number of crashes with minor injuries increased over the past few years. The number of cycling crashes that caused severe injuries (fatalities and major injuries) after a fall without contact with another vehicle were significantly higher than crashes that caused severe injuries due to an impact with vehicles or another bike. This finding indicates that not all crashes are being reported to the police. In particular crashes where an individual falls off their bike without contact with another vehicle and only sustains minimal injuries, as they might not see the need for contacting the police in such instances. The study further found that crashes which occurred in darkness were more likely to cause serious injuries than those that happened during daylight. It is important to monitor the use of road bikes and the rate of crashes carefully as an improved crash register can help ensure the safety of cyclist and solve any potential issues. Therefore, it is proposed that the proper recording of all crashes is a major component in developing measures to enhance road safety, better reporting could be achieved by linking police and hospital records. Finally, it is recommended that authorities continue to improve road conditions and cycling paths whilst also providing additional educational and preventative measures.