New Risk Management Findings from Chalmers University of Technology Reported (Crash risk: How cycling flow can help explain crash data)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Data detailed on Risk Management have been presented. According to news reporting originating from Gothenburg, Sweden, by VerticalNews editors, the research stated, "Crash databases are commonly queried to infer crash causation, prioritize countermeasures to prevent crashes, and evaluate safety systems. However, crash databases, which may be compiled from police and hospital records, alone cannot provide estimates of crash risk."

Financial support for this research came from Trafikverket, the Swedish national road authority.

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the Chalmers University of Technology, "Moreover, they fail to capture road user behavior before the crash. In Sweden, as in many other countries, crash databases are particularly sterile when it comes to bicycle crashes. In fact, not only are bicycle crashes underreported in police reports, they are also poorly documented in hospital reports. Nevertheless, these reports are irreplaceable sources of information, clearly highlighting the surprising prevalence of single-bicycle crashes and hinting at some cyclist behaviors, such as alcohol consumption, that may increase crash risk. In this study, we used exposure data from 11 roadside stations measuring cyclist flow in Gothenburg to help explain crash data and estimate risk. For instance, our results show that crash risk is greatest at night on weekends, and that this risk is larger for single-bicycle crashes than for crashes between a cyclist and another motorist. This result suggests that the population of night-cyclists on weekend nights is particularly prone to specific crash types, which may be influenced by specific contributing factors (such as alcohol), and may require specific countermeasures."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Most importantly, our results demonstrate that detailed exposure data can help select, filter, aggregate, highlight, and normalize crash data to obtain a sharper view of the cycling safety problem, to achieve a more fine-tuned intervention."

For more information on this research see: Crash risk: How cycling flow can help explain crash data. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2017;105():21-29. Accident Analysis and Prevention can be contacted at: Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Accident Analysis and Prevention - www.journals.elsevier.com/accident-analysis-and-prevention/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting M. Dozza, Chalmers, SAFER, S-41756 Gothenburg, Sweden.

Keywords for this news article include: Gothenburg, Sweden, Europe, Risk Management, Hospital, Chalmers University of Technology.

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