Data Needed. Data Needed.As a member of the Champaign-Urbana Mayors' Task Force on Bicycle Safety and the Champaign County SAFE KIDS Coalition, my eyes have been opened to the connection between bicycling, data, and policies that affect me as a cyclist.
Both groups wanted data before beginning their tasks - local data on bicycling-related injuries, accident data, what has been done elsewhere and how effective it has been, even data about local bicycle facilities.
The national SAFE KIDS organization recommends collecting local police accident reports, state highway patrol accident reports, and data from state and local health departments, area hospitals, and even bicycling clubs and organizations in the community.
What I soon realized, however, is that the local data available is probably incomplete and inaccurate. Why? Because the local medical data does not include information on whether or not riders were wearing helmets at the time of the accident. Because it appears that many studies focus on head injuries rather than all bicycle accident-related injuries. Because many studies focus exclusively on young bicyclists (e.g., 16 and younger).
As far as I know, few bicycling clubs have any organized program for keeping track of bicycling accidents. Because I and other bicyclists who have been involved in various accidents and incidents haven't reported them to the authorities.
One cyclist I know has had two run-ins with automobiles that were never reported to the authorities because no "serious" injury to a person occurred (e.g., two cracked front teeth but no injury requiring a trip to the emergency room), although there was damage to the bike. I was involved in a close encounter with a bus. Although the bus driver and I exchanged a few words after I picked myself up out of the gutter, I never reported the incident. Although there are many stories we all could share, these anecdotes are usually not part of the data base. So it seems to me the data are skewed. Yet it is upon this data that policy will be based.
What can we do? Act more like vehicle owners instead of toy owners. Report bicycle accidents to the police. Report hazardous road conditions to the city traffic engineer. If you need to seek medical attention for a bicycling-related injury, be sure to have them note in the report that you were wearing a helmet (you are all wearing helmets, aren't you?).
These are actions we don't hesitate to take as motor vehicle owners. As bicycle vehicle owners, we should do the same. Good bicycle policies depend on it!