["Danger spots" for bicyclists based on data from accident registration in emergency departments]

In Denmark political decisions to reduce traffic morbidity are often based on data collected from the police. It is often claimed that hospital-based traffic accident registration cannot provide detailed information regarding the exact localization of the accident. On the other hand, several investigations have shown a coverage of bicyclist accidents of only 8-19% in police records when comparing with hospital-based records. In the period from 1st of February 1995 until 31st of January 1997 all 971 patients injured in bicycle accidents and treated at the Emergency Department at Viborg Hospital were given a questionnaire regarding details about the accident and the exact localization of the accident. Eighty-five percent answered the questionnaire. Eight percent of the accidents were also found in the police register. From the material it could be concluded that six roads in the Municipality of Viborg were the scene of the accident in more than 10 cases each. A further analysis of these accidents pointed out two exact localizations on one single road as especially hazardous for bicyclists. It is concluded, that police-based registration of bicycle accidents are insufficient and more resources should be used on hospital-based accident registration, since detailed information about the site of the accidents also can be provided there.