Bicycle-related accidents and injuries in a population of urban cyclists.

To gain a better understanding of urban bicycle-related accidents and injuries, 93 Manhattan cyclists were asked to fill out a questionnaire on the subject and the results of their responses were analyzed. They reported a total of 51 bicycle-related accidents and 59 injuries of varying degrees of severity. Although 42 percent declared they used safety helmets, head trauma was reported by 25 percent of the injured cyclists. Most were not wearing protective headgear at the time of their injury, however. Increased cycling mileage and length of time cycling were significantly associated with increased accident occurrence. Surprisingly, 47 percent of the accident victims cited themselves as being at fault for the accident in which they were injured.