Pedestrian injuries due to collisions with bicycles in New York and California

• We examine the incidence of pedestrian–cyclist accidents in New York from 2004 to 2011 and California from 2005 to 2011.
• We profile pedestrians who have sustained injuries in collisions with cyclists.
• Despite the growing popularity of cycling in the United States, there has been a decline in the injury rate of pedestrians involved in collisions with cyclists.
• The decrease in the injury rate has been particularly noticeable among children 0–14 years of age.
• Improvements to the cycling infrastructure appear to be a contributing factor to the reduction in the injury rate.

IntroductionScant attention has been given to pedestrians injured in accidents resulting from collisions with cyclists. This scholarly neglect is surprising given the growing popularity of cycling. This study examines the incidence of pedestrians injured by cyclists in New York between 2004 to 2011 and in California from 2005 to 2011. The study also profiles the pedestrians injured in these two states during these two time frames.MethodThe data for this study are based upon patient-level hospital records from New York and California. The data for New York comes from the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) under the auspices of New York State's Department of Health. The data for California come from two sources: the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) and the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.ResultsThe rate of pedestrians injured in collisions with cyclists has decreased over time. This decline has occurred despite the increase in the number of cyclists in these states during this same time period. Two possible explanations for this decline are: (a) less exposure of children to cyclists, and (b) improvements in the cycling infrastructure.Practical applicationsAlthough the rate of injuries to pedestrians from collisions with cyclists has been decreasing, improvements to the cycling infrastructure will need to continue. Bike lanes, particularly protected bike lanes, have been shown to be an effective way of reducing cycling–pedestrian accidents. The results of the current study are consistent with this research. Educational campaigns aimed at cyclists that emphasize the safety of all road users – including pedestrians – will also need to continue to assure that this downward trend in the number of accidents is not reversed.