Reducing the rate of serious injuries to cyclists

Comprehensive application of the Safe System approach is needed to protect vulnerable road users

The number of road fatalities in Victoria among motor vehicle occupants and motorcyclists declined significantly between 2007 and 2015, by about 4% per year. This has not been the case for pedal cyclists and pedestrians. Further, rates of traffic-related serious injuries have not changed for most road users, while the numbers of cycling injuries have increased 8% annually. The article by Beck and his co-authors in this issue of the MJA1 calls for increased investment in road safety to reduce the burden of traffic-related injury, particularly to pedal cyclists. Victoria already has a mandatory helmet law that is saving many cyclists from death and serious head injury, but this alone is not enough if, as a society, we aspire to eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries altogether.