Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia (UBC), 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Environ Health. 2009 Oct 21;8:47. doi: 10.1186/1476-069X-8-47.
Bicycling has the potential to improve fitness, diminish obesity, and reduce noise, air pollution, and greenhouse gases associated with travel. However, bicyclists incur a higher risk of injuries requiring hospitalization than motor vehicle occupants. Therefore, understanding ways of making bicycling safer and increasing rates of bicycling are important to improving population health. There is a growing body of research examining transportation infrastructure and the risk of injury to bicyclists.
We reviewed studies of the impact of transportation infrastructure on bicyclist safety. The results were tabulated within two categories of infrastructure, namely that at intersections (e.g. roundabouts, traffic lights) or between intersections on "straightaways" (e.g. bike lanes or paths). To assess safety, studies examining the following outcomes were included: injuries; injury severity; and crashes (collisions and/or falls).
The literature to date on transportation infrastructure and cyclist safety is limited by the incomplete range of facilities studied and difficulties in controlling for exposure to risk. However, evidence from the 23 papers reviewed (eight that examined intersections and 15 that examined straightaways) suggests that infrastructure influences injury and crash risk. Intersection studies focused mainly on roundabouts. They found that multi-lane roundabouts can significantly increase risk to bicyclists unless a separated cycle track is included in the design. Studies of straightaways grouped facilities into few categories, such that facilities with potentially different risks may have been classified within a single category. Results to date suggest that sidewalks and multi-use trails pose the highest risk, major roads are more hazardous than minor roads, and the presence of bicycle facilities (e.g. on-road bike routes, on-road marked bike lanes, and off-road bike paths) was associated with the lowest risk.
Evidence is beginning to accumulate that purpose-built bicycle-specific facilities reduce crashes and injuries among cyclists, providing the basis for initial transportation engineering guidelines for cyclist safety. Street lighting, paved surfaces, and low-angled grades are additional factors that appear to improve cyclist safety. Future research examining a greater variety of infrastructure would allow development of more detailed guidelines.
骑自行车具有提高健康水平、减少肥胖、降低与出行相关的噪音、空气污染和温室气体排放的潜力。然而，与机动车乘客相比，骑自行车的人受伤需要住院治疗的风险更高。因此，了解如何使骑自行车更安全并提高骑自行车的比例对于改善人口健康非常重要。越来越多的研究正在研究交通基础设施和骑自行车者受伤的风险。
我们回顾了研究交通基础设施对骑自行车者安全影响的研究。将结果分为两类基础设施进行总结，即交叉口（如环岛、交通信号灯）或交叉口之间的“直道”（如自行车道或自行车道）。为了评估安全性，研究了以下结果的研究：伤害；伤害严重程度；和碰撞（碰撞和/或跌倒）。
迄今为止，关于交通基础设施和自行车手安全的文献受到研究设施范围不完整和难以控制风险暴露的限制。然而，从 23 篇综述论文（8 篇研究交叉口，15 篇研究直道）中得出的证据表明，基础设施会影响伤害和碰撞风险。交叉口研究主要集中在环岛。他们发现，除非设计中包括单独的自行车道，否则多车道环岛会大大增加骑自行车者的风险。直道研究将设施分为少数几类，因此可能具有不同风险的设施可能被分类在单个类别中。迄今为止的结果表明，人行道和多用途小径的风险最高，主要道路比次要道路更危险，自行车设施（如道路自行车道、道路标记自行车道和非道路自行车道）的存在与风险最低。
越来越多的证据表明，专门为自行车设计的设施可以减少骑自行车者的碰撞和受伤，为最初的自行车安全交通工程指南提供了依据。街灯、铺面和低角度坡度是另外一些似乎可以提高自行车手安全性的因素。未来研究将研究更多种类的基础设施，可以制定更详细的指南。
