Sin­gle-vehicle acci­dents of cyclists

Single-vehicle accidents are highly relevant for current cycling accidents. A study on behalf of the German Insurers Accident Research (UDV) has analysed single-vehicle accidents of cyclists in detail.

In addition to the analysis of the literature and an expert workshop on the topic, the study comprised the analysis of 7,767 single-vehicle accidents recorded by the police as well as the in-depth analysis of 1,481 police-documented accident descriptions of a three-year period and an online survey of cyclists on 1,521 single-vehicle accidents. In-depth interviews with cyclists were conducted for 157 single-vehicle accidents, detailed analyses of textual descriptions were carried out for 125. The interviews and analyses of textual descriptions were carried out in combination with a detailed examination of 69 accident locations to isolate accident-promoting driving manoeuvres at accident-prone features of the infrastructure.

As the study shows, single-vehicle accidents of cyclists are often caused by the driving behaviour. Driving too fast, over-braking, inattention or driving under the influence of alcohol are common accident causes. The infrastructure can, however, also give rise to single-vehicle accidents. Surfaces with reduced grip, kerbs and tram tracks are documented frequently in the context of the accidents. In addition, some accident causes of driving behaviour are more noticeable with pedelecs: pedelecs place greater demands on the rider due to their weight and acceleration.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the following is recommended to counteract single-vehicle accidents of cyclists:

• Cyclists must be guided with clear and easy to understand solutions so they can recognise without doubt where drivability is given and where this is not the case. This applies in particular to transition points between carriageway and a cycle path or the sidewalk area and at junctions.
• At transition points between carriageway and cycle paths the kerb height should be reduced to zero, even a small remaining height differences should be avoided.
• Cyclists should be guided as right-angled as possible across tram tracks and not in immediate vicinity of them along stretches of road between junctions. At junctions indirectly turning left lends itself allowing for safer crossing angles. Along stretches of road between junctions the distance between cyclists and the tram tracks should be sufficiently large so the tracks don’t have to be crossed.
• The maintenance and cleaning of the infrastructure is of vital importance. The cleaning is especially relevant in autumn to counteract effects associated with lying leaves like the concealment of small height differences or of damage and reduced grip. The maintenance should focus on maintaining an even and grippy surface and fixing damage.
• The awareness regarding the correct and safe infrastructure use as well as the consequences of improper behaviour should be raised through suitable campaigns. The former applies in particular with regard to the approach of height differences and the crossing of tram tracks in steep angles. The latter in particular with regard to speeding or inattentive driving as well as driving under the influence of alcohol.
• When purchasing a pedelec, it is advisable to take a course on safe driving to familiarise oneself with the heavier bicycle and stronger acceleration in a safe and controlled environment.
• It would be desirable to fit heavier and faster bicycles like pedelecs with an anti-lock braking system (ABS) to prevent over-braking and improve the controllability of these bicycle models.
• To counteract accident black spots of single-vehicle accidents, those black spots in the road network must be known. It would therefore be desirable to, in particular, document accidents with serious injuries in the context of medical treatment in hospitals and to hand over collected data to local authorities.