Death Toll In Bicycle Accidents Rises 11.5 Pct In One Year

The death toll in bicycle accidents last year rose 11.5 percent from a year earlier due to an increase in the number of older bicycle riders and riders' failure to wear protective equipment, the Road Traffic Authority said Tuesday.

SEOUL, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jun, 2018 ) :The death toll in bicycle accidents last year rose 11.5 percent from a year earlier due to an increase in the number of older bicycle riders and riders' failure to wear protective equipment, the Road Traffic Authority said Tuesday.

During the 2013-2017 period, the number of accidents involving bicycles and pedestrians came to 28,739 while 540 bicycle riders died in accidents and 30,357 other people sustained injuries.

The number soared to 6,920 in 2015 from 4,249 in 2013 before falling to 5,936 in 2016 and 5,659 in 2017.

But the number of deaths incurred in bicycle accidents rose steadily, increasing to 107 in 2015, 113 in 2016 and 125 in 2017 after falling moderately to 93 in 2014 from 101 in 2013.

More than 64 percent of violations leading to bicycle accidents involved violations of safety rules, 10.1 percent violations of the median line and 7.7 percent violations of traffic signs.

The proportion of bicycle riders aged 65 or older involved in bicycle accidents accounted for 20.4 percent, the highest among all age brackets.

The fatality rate of bicycle accidents, or the number of deaths per 100 accidents, was 4.9 in that age bracket, about 2.6 times the average of 1.9.

During the reported period, the number of people who died while riding a bicycle was tallied at 1,340; in 941 of those cases, it was confirmed whether or not the rider wore protective headgear. Only 11.2 percent of the 941 people wore protective gear.