Advocacy & Safety - 20% of commuters suffer an injury during one year of bike commuting

according to http://bikeportland.org/2010/11/11/ohsu-bike-commuter-injury-study-released-42622

They divided the riders into three groups: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The only problem was that their definitions of intermediate and advanced are better descriptions of beginners. No wonder they saw no difference in the rate of injury among their groups. The study may have been almost exclusively very low mileage newbies; I'm not surprised at the high rate of injury.

Also, speaking as someone who moved to the Pacific Northwest a decade ago, new riders seem to bring many of their driving habits to the saddle and I have never seen a population of people with worse driving habits than what I see in this region. Little wonder they were injured in large numbers when they ventured outside their cages.

new riders seem to bring many of their driving habits to the saddle

Often said by me to those acting like doofi on bicycles: I certainly hope you don't drive like that.

according to http://bikeportland.org/2010/11/11/ohsu-bike-commuter-injury-study-released-42622

The headlines of the study are misleading.

Falling off a bicycle and suffering a minor abrasion that requires no medical attention at all should not be labeled a "traumatic event" as it is in this survey. The chosen language is alarmist, disrespectful to anyone who has suffered actual trauma, and reveals a certain degree of troubling innocence in the survey's authors and participants.

...should not be labeled a "traumatic event" as it is in this survey. The chosen language is alarmist,.

yeah, i agree.

The headlines of the study are misleading.

Falling off a bicycle and suffering a minor abrasion that requires no medical attention at all should not be labeled a "traumatic event" as it is in this survey. The chosen language is alarmist, disrespectful to anyone who has suffered actual trauma, and reveals a certain degree of troubling innocence in the survey's authors and participants.

From the article:


Please note that in this case "traumatic event" is a scientific term meaning an event that led to an injury.

From the University of Maryland Medical Center website (http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/001924.htm):


A traumatic event is an experience that causes physical, emotional, psychological distress, or harm.

Seems like a valid medical term that has a different connotation in general usage.

safer in a cage?

From the article:


From the University of Maryland Medical Center website (http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/001924.htm):



Seems like a valid medical term that has a different connotation in general usage.

Yeah, I get that it's a psuedo-technical term for researchers. However, it's a term generally reserved for far more serious incidents, as in "post-traumatic stress disorder." It's use in this article is highly questionable. In my opinion one would have to possess a highly distorted view of reality, or be some sort of salesman, to label a fall from the bike and a superficial injury a traumatic event.

Different studies define injury in different ways, so comparing them is extremely difficult.

People just need to understand when they read this particular study that falling off your bike and putting a bruise on your palm that lasts for a day and a half is classified here as a "traumatic event" and an injury. Obviously, injuries requiring hospitalization, or more than a cursory exam at the ER, occur far less frequently.

This study offers no real interesting or outstanding info compared to other surveys that have already been done on the subject of minor accidents -- newsflash, there are lots of ways to wreck a bike -- but it does win the headline award..

In practical terms anybody who really does consider a minor fall from the bike to be a traumatic event, should find a different mode of transport.

The headlines of the study are misleading.

Falling off a bicycle and suffering a minor abrasion that requires no medical attention at all should not be labeled a "traumatic event" as it is in this survey. The chosen language is alarmist, disrespectful to anyone who has suffered actual trauma, and reveals a certain degree of troubling innocence in the survey's authors and participants.

I figured this would be the problem. Everything is an injury. I wonder if they include overuse injuries too? You know, the sort that cyclists deal with by backing their mileage and pace down a little, adjusting any fit or technique issues, and building back into it.

I figured this would be the problem. Everything is an injury. I wonder if they include overuse injuries too? You know, the sort that cyclists deal with by backing their mileage and pace down a little, adjusting any fit or technique issues, and building back into it.

Frankly, the typical overuse injury is far more debilitating than most of the injuries tallied in this survey and labeled as traumatic.

Would scratching my leg slightly on my pedal count as an injury? It's my only injury on the road in the last 10 years.

Seems like a valid medical term that has a different connotation in general usage.

But if an expert is talking to the general public, it is his/her responsibility that it get conveyed in an appropriate manner.

I once tore my calf muscle in three places getting out of bed in the morning. **** happens.

I would much rather have a traumatic event from say...falling down ala slow speed clipless pedal accident than to die from a heart attack at age 45 from lack of activity. I have been riding a bike for almost 30 years. I have never had any serious injuries ever. It is one of the safest activities I engage in. I also ride horses. I have had over dozen accidents and serious injuries from horses in the same time frame including numerous broken bones(was in a wheelchair for 4 months last year) and torn ligaments.

Would scratching my leg slightly on my pedal count as an injury? It's my only injury on the road in the last 10 years.

That's impressive...

I experienced a "traumatic event" within three months. It took several days for a scab to form.

So pretty much every time I detour onto a mountain bike trail on the way home I have a *traumatic event*?

Perhaps I should stop mountain biking?