Accident; analysis and prevention
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Cycling, being easy, inexpensive and healthy, is becoming one of the most popular means of transport. Cyclists, however, are among the most vulnerable road users in traffic collisions. The aims of this study were to establish which cyclist and cycling accident characteristics are associated with alcohol consumption and helmet use in Germany and to identify risk factors related to head trauma sustained in cycling accidents. ⋯ Cyclists involved in collisions with another vehicle, motorised or not, had a lower risk of suffering a head injury compared with those involved in single-vehicle accidents (OR=0.27, 95% CI: 0.12-0.62, and OR=0.08, 95% CI: 0.03-0.22, respectively). The prevention or limiting of alcohol consumption among cyclists and the corresponding testing of cyclists must be improved. Training initiatives on helmet protection should be encouraged.
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Young people are a risk to themselves and other road users, as motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of their death. A thorough understanding of the most important factors associated with injury severity in crashes involving young drivers is important for designing well-targeted restrictive measures within youth-oriented road safety programs. The current study estimates discrete choice models of injury severity of crashes involving young drivers conditional on these crashes having occurred. ⋯ Seatbelt non-use, inexperience and alcohol use were the deadliest behavioral factors in single-vehicle crashes, while fatigue, reckless driving and seatbelt non-use were the deadliest factors in two-vehicle crashes. The presence of passengers in the young drivers' vehicle, and in particular a combination of males and females, dramatically increased the probability of serious and fatal injuries. The involvement of vulnerable road users, in particular on rural highways and open roads, considerably amplified the probability of higher crash injury severity.