This episode addresses seven questions about bicycles and safety:
- How dangerous is cycling compared to walking or riding in a car?
- Does cycling actually get safer as more people cycle?
- Should cyclists wear helmets?
- Are most bicycle accidents caused by cyclists riding dangerously?
- Why is it so hard to create decent bike lanes?
- How dangerous are bicycles for pedestrians?
- What’s the deal with those cycle airbags?
Episode transcript is available here.
References
- A Case-Control Study of the Effectiveness of Bicycle Safety Helmets – This is a good example of a case control study on the effectiveness of helmets. Link is to the abstract – subscription needed to access the full article.
- Nonuse of Bicycle Helmets and Risk of Fatal Head Injury – Another good example of a case control study. Full text of this one is freely available.
- Bicycle helmet Efficacy: a meta-analysis – This freely available article gives a fair summary of the overall evidence for bicycle helmets, including the neck-injury issue.
- No clear evidence from countries that have enforced the wearing of helmets – A fair summary of the impact of helmet laws on safety (freely available)
- Bike Lanes versus Wide Curb Lanes: Operational and Safety Findings and Countermeasure Recommendations [pdf] – A good example of video camera studies of cyclist behaviour and the way cycling infrastructure changes this behaviour
- Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute review of the Hovding – this is the fairest review I found of the bicycle airbag system.
The post Episode 22 – Bicycle Safety appeared first on DisasterCast Safety Podcast.
