Transport Policy
Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ
T: 0131-244 -4074
/
Mr James Cassidy
/ FOI/11/00469
14 April 2011
Dear Mr Cassidy,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST – CYCLIST INJURIES SCOTLAND
Thank you for your request dated 21 March 2011 under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 for information relating to cyclist injuries in Scotland. I am responding in the given timescale of 20 days from receipt of your request. I will take each of your questions in order:
1) Has the Scottish Government conducted or is it in the process of conducting studies into the role that cycle helmets have in preventing head injuries?
Answer: No studies have been conducted or are in the process of being conducted by the Scottish Government into the role of cycle helmets.
2) Please could you provide me with the most up to date annual statistical information regarding accident and emergency admissions for people suffering bicycle relayed injuries, broken down into categories: Head; Arms; Legs; Torso.
Answer: The hospital admissions statistics on unintentional injuries published by ISD http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4436.html showed that 147 children and 306 adults were admitted as "pedal cyclist injured in transport accident" in year ending March 2010. Greater detail is not held by the Scottish Government.
3) Regarding head injuries where a cycle helmet was not worn, what percentage of these injuries could reasonably have been prevented by the wearing of a cycle helmet?
4) Regarding head injuries where a cycle helmet was not worn, what percentage of these injuries would not reasonably have been prevented by the wearing of a cycle helmet?
Answer: No research or analysis has been undertaken by the Scottish Government in regard to head injuries by cyclists where a helmet was worn or not worn and, therefore, the information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
5) Please could you provide me with the most up to date annual figures for the number of cyclists killed on Scottish roads.
Answer: Statistics on injury road accidents involving pedal cyclists can be found in the Scottish Government publication Reported Road Casualties Scotland - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/11/05111814/0.
In particular, table 23 gives a time series showing casualties by severity -
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/11/05111814/37
6) What percentage of these cyclists deaths do the Scottish Government believe could have been prevented by the wearing of a helmet?
7) What percentage of these cyclists deaths do the Scottish Government believe could not have been prevented by the wearing of a helmet?
Answer: No research or analysis has been undertaken by the Scottish Government in regard to head injuries by cyclists and, therefore, the information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
8) Regarding cyclist injuries and fatalities, can these figures be broken down by accident type? For example, and not exclusively: accidents due to potholes, being struck by a motor vehicle, collision with a pedestrian, cyclist misjudgement of the road, etc.
Answer: Tables O, R and S give a breakdown of the contributory factors attributed to accidents involving pedal cyclists for all severities, killed and serious.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/11/05111814/8
For convenience I have attached a pdf file with the relevant tables and excel versions of the tables can also be found here http://tinyurl.com/6cto8vu
I also attach an excel file with tables showing the number of pedal cyclists injured where a motor vehicle was involved and pedestrian casualties where a pedal cyclist was involved.
9) Has the Scottish Government any plans to introduce any legislation regarding the compulsory wearing of helmets?
Answer: Legislation on this subject is reserved to the UK Government.
As you requested in your letter, I am sending this information to you electronically.
Yours sincerely,
KAREN FUREY
www.transportscotland.gov.uk / / An agency of