Bicycle accidents and injuries among adult cyclists.

Bicycling accidents comprised the greatest recreational source of Emergency Room visits last year, numbering over 500,000. To evaluate cycling morbidity, 492 active adult bicyclists from a metropolitan area responded to a survey to determine cycle use and accident patterns. Nearly half (46%) have been involved in an accident with the cyclists being at fault 58.7% of the time. Soft tissue injuries to the extremities predominated with 9.3% of all injuries requiring hospitalization (average, 7 days) and 22.5% missing days from work or school. Significant factors contributing to bicycle accidents included rider carelessness (58.7%), cycle malfunction (14.9%), environmental factors (36.9%), turns (22.9%) and hills (13.4%), and companion riders (15%). The use of riding helmets decreased the severity of injury and hospitalization time. The education of cyclists and drivers with the integration of bicycles into normal traffic patterns should help decrease the morbidity and mortality.