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Bicycle safety is the use of practices designed to reduce risk associated with cycling. The risk can be defined as the number of incidents occurring for a given amount of cycling. In many countries both the number of incidents and the amount of cycling (expressed in kilometers, hours or trips) are not well known. Non-fatal accidents often go unreported and bicycle use is only occasionally monitored. Some of this subject matter is hotly debated: for example, the discussions as to whether bicycle helmets or cyclepaths really deliver improved safety. The merits of obeying the rules of the road including the use of bicycle lighting at night are less controversial. == Crashes == The first recorded bicycle crash occurred in 1842, reportedly between Kirkpatrick McMillan, an early rider of the velocipede, and a young girl in Glasgow. The report, however, is vague and the identification disputed. Causes of crashes vary according to local conditions. A study conducted in 2000 by the Institute for Road Safety Research in the Netherlands found that single bicycle crashes accounted for 47% of all bicycle crashes, collisions with obstacles and animals accounted for 12%, and collisions with other road users accounted for 40%, with the remaining 1% having unknown or unclassified cause. Many bicycle crashes are unreported and therefore not included in official statistics. Prospective studies estimate that less than 10% of bicycle crashes are officially reported.〔Bas de Geus, Grégory Vandenbulcke, Luc Int Panis, Isabelle Thomas, Bart Degraeuwe, Elke Cumps, Joris Aertsens, Rudi Torfs, Romain Meeusen, A prospective cohort study on minor accidents involving commuter cyclists in Belgium, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Available online 4 November 2011, ISSN 0001-4575, 10.1016/j.aap.2011.09.045.〕 In the United Kingdom, cyclists have half of the rate (killed and serious injury per km) of motorcyclists but eight times the rate for motorists.〔(''"Motorcyclists have an especially poor safety record when compared to other road user groups. Their killed and serious injury (KSI) rate in the UK, per million vehicle kilometres, is approximately twice that of pedal cyclists and over 16 times that of car drivers and passengers."'' ).'' Road Safety Research Report No. 54. In-depth Study of Motorcycle Accidents''〕 Even minor bicycle crashes not involving hospitalisation can incur significant costs for the cyclist and others. The Belgian SHAPES project has recently estimated the cost at 0.12 euros per kilometre cycled.〔Aertsens et al. Commuting by bike in Belgium, the costs of minor accidents. Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 42, Issue 6, November 2010, Pages 2149-2157.〕 A cyclist who is hit by a car is more likely to be killed than one who just falls off.〔Davis R "Death on the Streets:Cars and the Mythology of Road Safety." Leading Edge 1993〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bicycle safety」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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