A computational study on the basis for a safe speed limit for bicycles on shared paths considering the severity of pedestrian head injuries in bicyclist-pedestrian collisions

• Published in: Accident analysis and prevention 2022-10, Vol.176, p.106792-106792, Article 106792
• Main Authors: Paudel, Milan, Yap, Fook Fah, Rosli, Tantyana Binte Mohamed, Tan, Kai Hou, Xu, Hong, Vahdati, Nader, Butt, Haider, Shiryayev, Oleg
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accident mechanism; Accidents, Traffic - prevention & control; Adult; Aged; Bicycle accidents; Bicycling - injuries; Body Height; Body Weight; Child; Collision speed; Craniocerebral Trauma - epidemiology; Craniocerebral Trauma - etiology; Craniocerebral Trauma - prevention & control; HIC value; Humans; Injury severity; Pedestrian accidents; Pedestrian safety; Pedestrians; Throw distance; Walking - injuries; Wounds and Injuries - etiology; Wounds and Injuries - prevention & control
• ISSN: 0001-4575; 1879-2057
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2022.106792

•Pedestrian injury and fall mechanism in pedestrian-bicycle collisions are analyzed.•Collision speed has a significant effect on pedestrian’s injury in a bicycle-pedestrian collision.•The post-impact fall mechanism depends on impact direction and the pedestrian’s profile.•A cycling speed limit of not more than 12 km/h is recommended on shared paths and footpaths. Bicyclists and pedestrians are two large vulnerable groups of road users. Many cities have allowed cyclists to share space with pedestrians on footpaths and off-road paths to reduce conflict with motor vehicles. The risk of bicyclist-pedestrian accidents is also increasing accordingly. Therefore, there is a need to understand the factors that affect the risk of injury in such accidents, especially to pedestrians who are considered more vulnerable. This paper presents a detailed investigation of bicyclist-pedestrian collisions and possible injury outcomes. The study has considered five levels of collision speed ranging from 10 km/h to 30 km/h, three pedestrian profiles (adult, child, and elderly) differentiated by their weight and height, three bicycles with different masses, and five impact directions. The bicyclist-pedestrian collision simulations have been analyzed based on four metrics: throw distance, peak head velocity on impact with the ground, head injury criterion (HIC) value, and the probability of severe head injury. For each simulation, the throw distance and peak head velocity on impact with the ground are extracted. Following that, the HIC and the probability of severe head injury to pedestrians are computed. The results show a significant effect of collision speed (p