Pedestrian injuries due to collisions with cyclists Melbourne, Australia.

Over the past decade in Melbourne the popularity of cycling has increased both as a mode of transport and a recreational activity, while at the same time walking has consistently been the most prevalent form of physical activity. Increasing levels of active transport use and physical activity are seen as important public health issues, particularly as the rate of urbanisation continues to grow throughout the world. To date there has been limited research conducted in Australia looking at the prevalence of pedestrian injuries resulting from collisions with cyclists. However there is a potential for the issues surrounding pedestrian and cyclist conflict to increase, given the growing uptake of these modes of transport, the continued densification of the urban environment and the lack of cycling specific infrastructure in many Australian capital cities. This study investigated the prevalence of pedestrian injuries resulting from collisions with cyclists in Melbourne, Australia. The intention was to quantify the extent of these collisions and identify if the rate of collisions was increasing, which may highlight a growing road safety issue. Furthermore the study sought to identify any unique characteristic and injury outcomes associated with this collision type. Aggregate analyses of two Victorian data sources were undertaken to enhance our understanding of pedestrian injuries resulting from collisions with cyclists, the Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit (VISU) and Victorian Police Report Crash Data (Crash Stats). The analysis demonstrated that over the past ten years there does not appear to have been a substantial increase in the number of pedestrian injuries resulting from collisions with cyclists. Furthermore the prevalence of injuries was small, especially when compared to injuries sustained by pedestrians from collisions with motor vehicles. The findings highlight that efforts to increase active transport participation should be encouraged and there may be situations where is it suitable to increase interaction and sharing of space between pedestrians and cyclists.