Road Safety

Bicycle Safety

Statistics
According to Québec's 2009 road safety record, accidents involving bicycles and road vehicles resulted in 16 deaths and 114 individuals being seriously injured.

Since 2003, there have been an estimated 2,500 road accident victims each year. According to the estimated degree of risk associated with cyclists for 2008, the rate of victims per 100,000 cyclists is approximately twice as high for children 15 and under than for adults 25 and up. This statistic proves that young people are over-represented among cyclist victims.

The Importance of Remaining Vigilant

• Head injuries continue to be the main cause of death among cyclists. These types of injuries are the most severe and account for 60% of deaths and 30% of serious injuries;
• Approximately one quarter of victims are age 15 or under;
• An estimated 85% of accidents occur in residential or commercial neighbourhoods, mainly in zones where the speed limit is 50 km/h or less;
• Most accidents occur between noon and 8:00 p.m.;
• Approximately 55% of fatal road accidents occur in areas other than intersections;
• One in ten accidents occurs in wet road conditions;
• Negligence and inattention (on the part of motorists or cyclists) are the principal causes of fatal accidents.

Other factors that can result in accidents:

• Failure to stop at a stop sign, red light or failure to yield the right of way where required;
• Failure to be clearly visible to other road users;
• Failure to ride in the direction of traffic.

Cycling Remains as Popular as Ever
In 2005, there were an estimated 3.6 million cyclists across Québec. A variety of factors can affect a cyclist's safety, including:

• road design;
• the presence of bicycle lanes;
• riding in a rural or urban setting;
• sharing the road with a variety of other users.

Hence, the importance of convincing cyclists to take responsibility for their own safety by wearing a helmet. Helmets are extremely important because they are a cyclist's only protection.

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