Investigating Cyclist Injuries in Road Crashes

Cyclists often face severe injuries in collisions with vehicles. This study aimed to investigate cyclist kinematics and ground effects through the analysis of video recordings from 144 real-world crash cases. The study examined impact speeds and cyclist kinematics across all crashes, estimating vehicle impact speeds between 10 and 30 kilometers per hour. Small sedan impacts resulted in high cyclist rotation angles, with angles increasing as impact speeds rose. The most common kinematic type, forward motion, represented 42.8% of small sedan crashes and 53.8% of SUV crashes. Cyclist rotation angles and kinematics depend on the car type and impact speed. These findings offer useful insights for future research on cyclist safety.