Grant: Project Grant

BACKGROUND: Active transport (such as walking and cycling) is encouraged as a healthy, eco-friendly way to travel. Unfortunately, pedestrians and cyclists are vulnerable in the event of a fall or collision and fear of injury acts as a deterrent. Knowledge of the circumstances of active transport injuries is limited because traffic statistics do not count all of these injuries, especially when a motor vehicle is not involved. As a result city planners do not know where these events occur, why they occur or which types of bike lanes or crosswalks (for example) put pedestrians or cyclists at greatest risk. There is also limited research on outcome following an active transport injury so doctors and nurses do not know which injured patients are at greatest risk of poor recovery. METHODS: Our study will provide this missing information. We will study 1800 pedestrians and cyclists (including people using e-scooters or e-bikes) who are treated in hospital after an injury. Interviews will determine the circumstances of the injury (where it happened, whether a motor vehicle was involved, features of the road or sidewalk that may have contributed to the injury). We will interview participants to find out their health and employment status in the month before the injury and again at 2, 4, 6, and 12 months as they recover. IMPORTANCE: Our study will help doctors and nurses know how quickly injured pedestrians and cyclists recover and which patients are likely to have long term health problems. We will also describe how much medical treatment these patients require and how much work they miss. City planners will be interested in knowing why and where the most serious injuries occur. Our findings will also help policy makers make informed decisions on how much money and resources to devote to preventing active transport injuries or to specialized treatment programs for injured pedestrians or cyclists.