July 1, 2022
Identifying High-risk Built Environments for Severe Bicycling Injuries
Chen, Peng; Shen, Qing. (2019). Identifying High-risk Built Environments for Severe Bicycling Injuries. Journal of Safety Research, 68, 1 – 7.
Abstract
Introduction: This study is aimed at filling part of the knowledge gap on bicycling safety in the built environment by addressing two questions. First, are built environment features and bicyclist injury severity correlated; and if so, what built environment factors most significantly relate to severe bicyclist injuries? Second, are the identified associations varied substantially among cities with different levels of bicycling and different built environments? Methods: The generalized ordered logit model is employed to examine the relationship between built environment features and bicyclist injury severity. Results: Bicyclist injury severity is coded into four types, including no injury (NI), possible injury (PI), evident injury (El), and severe injury and fatality (SIF). The findings include: (a) higher percentages of residential land and green space, and office or mixed use land are correlated with lower probabilities of El and SIF; (b) land use mixture is negatively correlated with El and SIF; (c) steep slopes are positively associated with bicyclist injury severity; (d) in areas with more transit routes, bicyclist injury is less likely to be severe; (e) a higher speed limit is more likely to correlate with SIF; and (f) wearing a helmet is negatively associated with SIF, but positively related to PI and El. Practical applications: To improve bicycle safety, urban planners and policymakers should encourage mixed land use, promote dense street networks, place new bike lanes in residential neighborhoods and green spaces, and office districts, while avoiding steep slopes. To promote bicycling, a process of evaluating the risk of bicyclists involving severe injuries in the local environment should be implemented before encouraging bicycle activities. (C) 2018 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Motor Vehicle; Land-use; Crashes; Severities; Facilities; Frameworks; Frequency; Cyclists; Bike; Bicyclist Injury Severity; Built Environments; Generalized Ordered Logit Model; Us Cities; Bicycles; Urban Environments; Injuries; Neighborhoods; Land Use; Urban Areas; Paths; Protective Equipment; Bicycling; Fatalities; Correlation; Residential Areas; Traffic Accidents & Safety; Safety; Logit Models; Ecological Risk Assessment; Slopes; Health Risks; Urban Transportation; Studies; Environments
