Yorkshire & Humber. Pedal Cycle Collisions. Overview & Trends. A study for safer road partnerships in Yorkshire & Humber

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1 Yorkshire & Humber Pedal Cycle Collisions Overview & Trends A study for safer road partnerships in Yorkshire & Humber Author: Anke Taylor Safer Roads Humber

2 CONTENTS CONTENTS...2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...3 INTRODUCTION...4 PEDAL CYCLE COLLISIONS...5 Overview...5 Urban vs. rural roads...9 Junction Detail...9 Collision types and vehicles involved...10 Time of Year...11 Time of Day and Day of Week...12 Contributory Factors...13 PEDAL CYCLIST CASUALTIES...14 Casualty Age and Gender...14 Casualty Home Post Codes...14 Casualty Mosaic...24 APPENDIX...29 MOSAIC profile of car drivers involved in pedal cycle collisions..29 Car driver MOSAIC: Group E...30 Car driver MOSAIC: Group J...31 Car driver MOSAIC: Group I...32 Car driver MOSAIC: Group K...33 MOSAIC profile of car drivers involved in pedal cycle collisions on urban roads...34 MOSAIC profile of car drivers involved in pedal cycle collisions on rural roads...35 Adult Pedal Cyclist MOSAIC profile: urban roads...36 Adult Pedal Cyclist MOSAIC profile: rural roads...37 Anke Taylor 2 March 2013

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Yorkshire & the Humber (Y&H), pedal cycle traffic increased by 3% between 2009 and Simultaneously, collisions that pedal cyclists were involved in and consequently the number of resulting cyclist casualties have also risen. Pedal cycles were involved in 11% of all Y&H road collisions between 2009 and 2011, with pedal cyclists (riders and passengers) accounting for 7% of all casualties and 11% of all KSI casualties. Most pedal cycle collisions occurred in the urban centres, namely in Leeds, Hull, York, Sheffield and Doncaster, usually on roads subject to a 30mph speed limit. The severity of injuries suffered by cyclists increased with the speed limit, meaning that riders were more likely to suffer serious or fatal injuries on higher speed roads: more than a quarter of cyclist deaths occurred on non-built up roads. Nearly two-thirds of cycle crashes happened at junctions and 84% of collisions involved a bicycle and a car. It is difficult to assess which party was at fault (driver or rider) and therefore any campaigns need to target both road users. Car drivers involved in crashes with pedal cycles tended to be men of working age living in Yorkshire & the Humber. 42% of all crashes involving adult cyclists occurred during weekday commuting times (6am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm) and over 80% in daylight. Three quarters of cycle collisions happened from April to November. Adult cycle casualties were predominantly male, under the age of 54, lived in Yorkshire & the Humber and crucially, were not particularly disadvantaged. On average, they travelled less than 7 kilometres from home before being injured in a crash. Unsurprisingly, most adult cycle casualties lived in the densely populated cities of Leeds, Hull and York. When looking at the casualty rate per population head, Hull and York feature highly together with the rural Tollerton Ward in North Yorkshire. Interestingly, the majority of adult cycle casualties and the car drivers involved in pedal cycle collisions are men belonging to the same age group. There is some small migration of pedal cycle casualties between the Yorkshire & Humber regions, especially from West Yorkshire into North Yorkshire, but there is currently hardly any import of cyclist casualties living outside Yorkshire & the Humber into the area. One MOSAIC group was identified as being overrepresented in the Yorkshire & Humber pedal cycle casualty statistics: group G (Young, well educated city dwellers) with low car ownership rates and high internet use. Groups E (Middle income families living in moderate suburban semis) and I (Lower income workers in urban terraces in often diverse areas) were highly represented in the cyclist casualty statistics, but their risk per head of population was less as they make up more of the Y&H inhabitants. Anke Taylor 3 March 2013

4 INTRODUCTION This report is the result of analysis of pedal cycle collisions and pedal cyclist casualties (riders & passengers) on the roads of Yorkshire & the Humber (Y&H) between 2009 and and seeks to give an overview of the characteristics of these collisions as well as identify who the pedal cyclist casualties are and where they come from. This also includes profiling their socio-demographic background. One of the aims of the report is to establish if there is migration of pedal cyclist casualties between the Yorkshire & Humber regions and from outside the county. Consequently, only pedal cycle casualties aged 18 and over have been included in the analysis as anyone younger than that is less likely to travel greater distances. To visualise where Yorkshire & Humber pedal cyclist casualties live, thematic maps have been created based on anonymous post code data provided by all four Y&H sub-regions. The same data was also used to create the casualties societal circumstances. General pedal cycle casualty and collision information was gained by interrogating the MAST system. A similar, more detailed analysis was undertaken in 2010 looking at motorcycle casualties across the region. This analysis established that there was clear migration of motorcycle casualties across the Yorkshire & Humber area and was used as a starting point for successful regional communication campaigns to raise awareness of the issue. With the Yorkshire & Humber region hosting two stages of the Tour de France in 2014 it is likely that the level of leisure cycling in the region is liable to increase over the next five years, with cyclists aiming to ride the Tour routes. As a result, this could lead to an import of cyclist casualties from other areas. This report will therefore assist to establish the current status of cycle casualty migration and can be used as a starting point for more research into this topic after the 2014 Tour the France data is the latest officially verified data that can be accessed on MAST (national collision & casualty system). Anke Taylor 4 March 2013

5 PEDAL CYCLE COLLISIONS Overview Nationally in 2011, pedal cycle traffic increased for the fourth consecutive year 2 and is now 19% higher than in Likely reasons for this are the increasing popularity of leisure cycling, but also a higher number of people using their bicycles as an inexpensive means of transport during the economic slowdown. This upward trend is unfortunately also mirrored in the number of pedal cyclist casualties which were 9% higher in 2011 compared to In Yorkshire & the Humber, pedal cycle traffic rose by approximately 2% between 2010 and 2011 alone (it increased by 3% from 2009 to 2011) 4. Pedal cycles were involved in 11% of all road collisions between 2009 and 2011, with pedal cyclists representing 7% of all casualties and 11% of all KSI casualties. This is more or less in line with the national picture (nationally, cyclists accounted for 8% of all casualties and 11% of all KSI casualties between 2009 and 2011) 5, but with pedal cycles still only accounting for 1% of all traffic countrywide in , they remain one of the regions most vulnerable road user groups. The below chart demonstrates the development of pedal cycle collisions across Yorkshire & the Humber and by sub-region. It indicates an ongoing increase in bicycle collisions for the whole of the region, but also for each individual sub-region with West Yorkshire and Humberside showing more notable increases than South Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Yorkshire & Humber: Number of pedal cycle collisions by sub-region, ,800 West Yorkshire Y & H Combined 1,600 Number of pedal cycle collisions (all severity) by sub-region Humberside South Yorkshire North Yorkshire 1,400 1,200 1, Y&H: Number of pedal cycle collisions (all severity) Year Humberside North Yorkshire South Yorkshire West Yorkshire Y & H Combined 0 2 Department for Transport: Annual Road Traffic Estimates 2011, p. 5 3 Department for Transport: Overview and trends in reported road casualties 2011, p Department for Transport: Pedal cycle traffic (billion vehicle miles) by region and country in Great Britain, Table TRA0403; please note: percentages are based on exact vehicle miles while DfT table only shows rounded figures 5 Department for Transport: Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain 2011 Annual Report, p. 152 & p Department for Transport: Traffic Statistics, Table TRA0101 Anke Taylor 5 March 2013

6 18% of all Yorkshire & Humber pedal cycle collisions were KSI collisions. Overall, the number of pedal cycle KSI collisions was also following an upwards tendency. In accordance with the collisions, the number of adult pedal cyclist casualties is also on the rise, mainly due to an increase in slight casualties, but in both North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire also connected to an increase in killed or seriously injured cyclists: Pedal Cyclist Casualties (riders & passengers) aged 18 and over KSI Slight Total KSI Slight Total KSI Slight Total Total Humberside North Yorkshire South Yorkshire West Yorkshire ,177 Y&H Total , , ,182 3,296 However, this increase in pedal cycle collisions and pedal cycle casualties does not necessarily mean that cycling in Yorkshire & the Humber is getting more dangerous as the increase in cyclist numbers on the road could outweigh the increase in casualties, i.e. the relative risk of becoming a cycle casualty might not be changing at the same rate as the absolute numbers. Local studies in South Yorkshire and Leeds based on annual cordon counts have shown that with the year on year increase in cyclists, the risk of becoming a cycle casualty is actually reducing. 7 Cyclists might therefore benefit from the Safety in numbers concept 8 which means that once the number of cyclists reaches a critical mass, they become a regular expected norm on the roads with motorists adapting their behaviour to accommodate cyclists and therefore making the roads safer for all involved. This influence may be worthy of further analysis in a future report. Unsurprisingly, most pedal cycle collisions in Yorkshire & the Humber occurred in the urban centres, namely in and around Leeds, York, Sheffield, Doncaster and Hull. The wards that saw the highest number of pedal cycle collisions are as follows 9 : Ward City/ Town Police Force Area Number of pedal cycle collisions City & Hunslet Ward Leeds West Yorkshire 97 Myton Ward Hull Humberside 88 Central Ward Sheffield South Yorkshire 72 Guildhall Ward York North Yorkshire 68 7 Brent Sharp: Relative risk of cycling in South Yorkshire, 2013; Jean Siakeu: Risk of cycling in Leeds, 2013; available on request 8 European Cyclists Federation: Safety in Numbers factsheet 9 These figures are based on the cycle collision locations provided by the data analysts of each sub-region, which have been plotted by ward. It is possible that slight discrepancies with actual ward collision data in each subregion exist as the system was unable to plot some locations due to data format and technical issues. Anke Taylor 6 March 2013

7 Headingley Ward Leeds West Yorkshire 61 Central Ward Doncaster South Yorkshire 58 The thematic map on the following page visually represents the number of pedal cycle collisions for each ward in each of the four Yorkshire & Humber police force areas. The colour coding of the wards runs from dark green (few pedal cycle collisions) to dark red (many pedal cycle collisions). White colouring means that no pedal cycle collision occurred in that ward between 2009 and Anke Taylor 7 March 2013

8 Anke Taylor 8 March 2013

9 Almost two thirds of pedal cycle collisions in Yorkshire & the Humber occurred at or near a road junction, with T-junctions being the most dangerous. Yorkshire & Humber: Pedal Cycle Collisions - Junction Detail, Private Road 5% Other 4% Roundabout 12% Away from Junction 26% Crossroads 9% T-Junction 44% Over 60% of adult cyclists killed or seriously injured were involved in collisions at, or near road junctions with roundabouts being particularly dangerous intersections: 27% of fatally injured pedal cyclists were involved in collisions on roundabouts. 40% of cyclists were killed away from a junction. Collision types and vehicles involved The vast majority of collisions (96%) involved a pedal cycle and another vehicle. Single vehicle collisions involving only a pedal cycle only made up about 4% of pedal cycle collisions in Yorkshire & the Humber between 2009 and The most common vehicle involved in collisions with pedal cycles was a car (involved in 84% of bicycle crashes). However, heavy goods vehicles also presented a danger to cyclists. Although there were relatively few collisions between pedal cyclists and HGVs, they were more likely to result in fatal injury when they did occur: in Yorkshire & the Humber, only 2% of all adult cyclist casualties resulted from collisions with heavy goods vehicles, but they accounted for 27% of pedal cyclist deaths. More than three quarters of pedal cycles were going straight ahead when they were involved in a collision. 37% of car drivers were going straight ahead and almost a third were turning either left or right when a collision with a cyclist occurred. 10 It is well known that single vehicle collisions involving cyclists are under reported in injury collision records as there is no legal requirement to inform the police of such crashes. Anke Taylor 10 March 2013

10 Drivers involved in Pedal Cycle Collisions 11 Almost two thirds of car drivers involved in collisions with pedal cyclists in Yorkshire & the Humber were male and more than half of them were aged between 25 and 54. Source: MAST They were almost exclusively living in Yorkshire & the Humber i.e. they were predominantly local people and not drivers from outside the area. Almost a quarter of car drivers were travelling for work related reasons (either commuting or travelling for work), with 76% travelling for other reasons which cannot be specified further. 12 Summaries of the top four MOSAIC profiles that car drivers involved in pedal cycle collisions in Yorkshire & the Humber belonged to, also split down by rural and urban roads, can be found in the appendix. Time of Year Not surprisingly, collisions involving adult pedal cyclists increased from spring onwards reflecting the higher use of pedal cycles during the warmer weather months and longer hours of daylight. Almost three in four injury collisions involving pedal cycles occurred in the period April to November, with overall numbers peaking in September. Interestingly, the number of pedal cycle casualties was fairly high in November which displayed similar casualty levels as the summer months. This is probably due to more cycling taking place during hours of darkness after the clocks changing at the end of October. 11 These are car drivers colliding with a pedal cyclist, regardless of pedal cyclist age. It is unfortunately not possible to look at car driver age & gender based on pedal cyclist age. 12 These were either travelling for pleasure/ leisure or the journey purpose was unknown or could not be obtained at the scene of the collision. When discounting these other, unspecified reasons, 94% of car drivers colliding with cyclists were travelling for work. Anke Taylor 11 March 2013

11 Source: MAST Time of Day and Day of Week Around 83% of cycle crashes occurred in daylight which is when most cycling takes place. The vast majority of pedal cycle collisions occurred on weekdays particularly between 6am and 9am (18% of collisions) as well as 3pm and 6pm (24% of collisions) with the afternoon peak being much more pronounced. This coincides with the traditional morning and afternoon commuter traffic periods. The pattern for weekends was different with considerably less collisions in the early morning and afternoon, unlike weekdays. Peak time for cycle crashes at weekends was between noon and 3pm. Single vehicle collisions just involving adult pedal cyclists peaked in the late mornings between 9am and noon whereas multi-vehicle crashes involving a pedal cycle and another vehicle reached a high in the afternoons between 3pm and 6pm. Source: MAST Anke Taylor 12 March 2013

12 Contributory Factors Even though contributory factors are largely subjective and assigned quickly after the occurrence of a crash, often without extensive investigations, they can be useful for highlighting general trends in collision causation and when looking at the actions that might have been taken by the different participants in a collision. Yorkshire & Humber wide contributory factors could not be examined as these are so far not available on MAST. However, nationally, collisions involving adult cyclists were more likely to involve collisions with motor vehicles (in contrast to child cyclists where crashes are often the result of the child playing, doing tricks, riding too fast or losing control ). 13 In 2011 in Great Britain, Failed to look properly (assigned to 26% of pedal cycles involved in collisions) was the most frequently reported contributory factor for pedal cyclists, followed by Failed to judge other person s path or speed (10%) and Careless/ reckless/ in a hurry (9%). 14 Cyclist entering road from pavement was attributed to 8% of pedal cycles and Cyclist wearing dark clothes at night was reported for 3%. The below table shows, for two vehicle collisions involving a bicycle and another vehicle, the percentage of each vehicle type that failed to look properly 15 : The table indicates that in collisions with a car or goods vehicle, it was not the pedal cyclist but the other vehicle driver who was more likely to have failed to look properly, unlike in crashes between pedal cycles and motorbikes or buses/ coaches where a higher percentage of pedal cyclists failed to look properly. 13 ROSPA: Cycling Accidents Factsheet 14 Department for Transport: Table RAS Contributory factors by vehicle type, GB Department for Transport: Table RAS Two vehicle accidents in which driver/ rider failed to look properly, GB 2011 Anke Taylor 13 March 2013

13 PEDAL CYCLIST CASUALTIES Casualty Age and Gender Adult pedal cyclist casualties in Yorkshire & the Humber tended to be male and were aged between 25 and 54 years old (67%). Source: MAST Similar to the car drivers involved in cycle collisions, 74% of pedal cyclists used their bikes for a journey purpose other than school or work with 23% either commuting to work or travelling for work when they were involved in a collision. 16 Casualty Home Post Codes On average, adult pedal cyclist casualties in Yorkshire & the Humber had only travelled 6.4km from home when they got involved in a crash. The average distance from home for pedal cycle KSI casualties was slightly higher with 8.7km. These figures point towards most pedal cyclists injured in Yorkshire & the Humber also living in the region and indicate that currently, the import of pedal cyclist casualties from outside the Yorkshire & Humber area is minimal. Indeed, the average distance from home travelled when involved in a collision even suggests that most pedal cyclist casualties seem to crash in their home area meaning that a migration of pedal cyclist casualties between the Yorkshire & Humber sub-regions themselves is currently only taking place on a limited scale. The following maps will examine the extent of pedal cyclist casualty migration between the Yorkshire & Humber sub-regions and from outside the area in more detail. 16 When discounting other journey purposes as they are not further identified, almost 90% of cyclists were travelling for a work related reason. Anke Taylor 14 March 2013

14 To visualise where Y&H pedal cycle casualties come from, the available home post codes of pedal cyclists injured in all four police force areas were mapped. The colour coded stars represent the home locations of pedal cycle casualties by force area: Anke Taylor 15 March 2013

15 The map shows quite clearly that most cyclist casualties injured in Yorkshire and the Humber between 2009 and 2011 also lived in Yorkshire and the Humber. There was a very small number of casualties who lived in various places in the Midlands or the south of England and a small amount of casualties who lived in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and the Northumberland area. The home post code mapping therefore supports the hypothesis that there is currently only a small degree of migration of pedal cyclist casualties into Yorkshire & the Humber from other regions and a Yorkshire & Humber wide road safety initiative would therefore currently be sufficient to reach our main pedal cyclist casualty target audience. The map also indicates that there is a differing degree of migration of pedal cyclist casualties between the Yorkshire & Humber regions themselves. Whereas for Humberside, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire the majority of pedal cyclist casualties are from within those areas, North Yorkshire shows a higher number of casualties that do not live in North Yorkshire but are from neighbouring police force areas, mainly West Yorkshire and Cleveland. The thematic maps on the following pages analyse where pedal cyclist casualties for each police force area come from in more detail. The maps illustrate in which wards most pedal cycle casualties reside the darker (red) the colour, the more pedal cyclist casualties live in this ward. White areas mean that there were no cycle casualties from that ward for that force area between 2009 and Humberside The Humberside thematic map shows that the vast majority of pedal cyclists injured in Humberside are from Humberside, particularly from the urban areas of Hull and Grimsby. A very small, scattered number of cyclists lived in various wards in North and West Yorkshire as well as Lincolnshire and the Midlands. West Yorkshire As in Humberside, the West Yorkshire thematic map indicates that the home wards of pedal cyclists injured in West Yorkshire are also predominantly located in West Yorkshire, mainly in and around Leeds, with only a few coming from the other Yorkshire & Humber regions and from outside Yorkshire. South Yorkshire Similarly, South Yorkshire (SY) pedal cyclist casualties also mainly lived in South Yorkshire with a very small number residing in neighbouring police force areas, mainly in West and North Yorkshire, but also in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The map suggests that most SY cyclist casualties are from the Doncaster area. North Yorkshire In contrast to the other Yorkshire & Humber regions, North Yorkshire (NY) has a notably higher number of pedal cyclist casualties that live outside North Yorkshire, mainly in neighbouring wards of West Yorkshire, followed by Humberside and Cleveland. However, most NY cyclist casualties still live in the North Yorkshire area, namely in and around York. Anke Taylor 16 March 2013

16 Anke Taylor 17 March 2013

17 Anke Taylor 18 March 2013

18 Anke Taylor 19 March 2013

19 Anke Taylor 20 March 2013

20 The following map details the total number of pedal cycle casualties living in a ward for all Yorkshire & Humber cycle collisions between 2009 and 2011: Anke Taylor 21 March 2013

21 Again, it is clear that for the whole region, the majority of pedal cyclist casualties lived in Yorkshire & the Humber, mainly in the big cities and towns. This is as expected as the cities and bigger towns are the most densely populated areas in Yorkshire & the Humber. The top six wards based on the total number of pedal cyclist casualties are detailed below: Ward City/ Town Police Force Area Number of injured pedal cyclists living in ward Drypool Ward Hull Humberside 36 Orchard Park & Greenwood Ward Hull Humberside 36 Weetwood Ward Leeds West Yorkshire 35 Holgate Ward York North Yorkshire 34 Avenue Ward Hull Humberside 33 Headingley Ward Leeds West Yorkshire 32 In order to account for the differences in population we need to look at the pedal cyclist casualty rate per population head for each ward instead of the total casualty number 17. This approach highlights slightly different wards as the top wards in the pedal cyclist casualty statistics. These wards are mainly located in the cities of Hull and York, apart from one rural North Yorkshire ward (Tollerton Ward) which has the third highest pedal cyclist casualty rate in the region. Interestingly, neither West Yorkshire nor South Yorkshire wards feature amongst those areas with the highest pedal cyclist casualty rates: Ward City/ Town Police Force Area Pedal Cyclist casualty rate per ward Heworth Without Ward York North Yorkshire St Andrew s Ward Hull Humberside Tollerton Ward N/A North Yorkshire Drypool Ward Hull Humberside Holgate Ward York North Yorkshire Southcoates East Ward Hull Humberside The casualty rate per population head is the result of dividing the total casualties per ward by the ward population. Anke Taylor 22 March 2013

22 If looking to engage with cycle casualties by targeting their home areas, the wards with the highest casualty rates should be targeted first as cyclists living there have a higher likelihood of crashing than cyclists living in other wards. The thematic map below helps to visualise the distribution of cyclist casualty rates across all Yorkshire & Humber wards. Anke Taylor 23 March 2013

23 Casualty Mosaic Mosaic is a socio-demographic profiling system that allows for individuals or groups of individuals to be classified in terms of demographics, lifestyle, culture and behaviour. The software segments individuals by allocating them to one of 15 groups representing post code levels. These groups then provide generalisations about the kind of people who comprise them which in turn can be used to understand the relevant target audience and create campaigns to reach them. The home post codes used to plot where the Yorkshire & Humber adult pedal cyclist casualties lived have also been used to create the cyclists sociodemographic profiles and to analyse their relative representation in the statistics against the Yorkshire & Humber government office region population base (as the majority of injured cyclists lived in Yorkshire & the Humber). 18 Source: MAST The above chart shows that the group with the highest pedal cyclist casualty figure is group E with 418 cyclist casualties over three years. Other groups with high representation (over 300 casualties) are I (352), G (333) and J (326). 19 Regarding index values which establish over or underrepresentation based on population figures, groups G and N are significantly overrepresented with index values over 120. When analysing MOSAIC profiles, those groups should be considered that display a high number of casualties and a high index score. This is only the case for group G (Young, well-educated city dwellers). They account for more than 11% of pedal cyclist casualties, but only represent 6% over the overall Yorkshire & Humber population. 18 MOSAIC profiles for all 18+ year pedal cycle casualties from Yorkshire & the Humber (Y&H) injured on Y&H roads. 19 A further differentiation of adult cyclist MOSAIC profiles between those injured on rural and urban roads can be found in the appendix. Anke Taylor 24 March 2013

24 Groups E (Middle income families living in moderate suburban semis) and I (Lower income workers in urban terraces in often diverse areas) are highly represented in the casualty statistics (they make up approx. a quarter of our pedal cyclist casualties), but are less at risk compared to the total Y&H population. Their casualty figures are more or less in keeping with what statistically would have been expected of them as they constitute 23% of the overall Yorkshire & Humber inhabitants. These three groups jointly account for over 36% of all Yorkshire and Humber adult cycle casualties. MOSAIC Group G MOSAIC Group E MOSAIC Group I Source: Experian MOSAIC The table on the next page summarises each group s main characteristics and is a list of generalisations about the cycle casualties family, home and working lives. It also shows what message delivery methods they are receptive to. This can help to make some assumptions about their values and attitudes and how these could be influenced by tailored road safety campaigns. Anke Taylor 25 March 2013

25 MOSAIC Profile Adult Pedal Cycle Casualties in Yorkshire & the Humber Group G: Young, well educated city dwellers E: Middle Income families living in moderate suburban semis I: Lower income workers in urban terraces in often diverse areas Families Young, childless singles Students Comfortably off middle class families Married, middle aged with children Young singles and couples with some young children Location Towns with universities Accessible inner suburbs Close to public and commercial services Diverse communities with rapid turnover of population Leafy, green suburbs Residential neighbourhoods Arterial roads intersect neighbourhoods Close to centres of industrial towns Ethnic diversity Immigrant communities Housing Income Jobs Benefits Education Health Car Ownership Receptive to Unreceptive to & Large, older houses converted into flats Often rented Lack of car parking Professionals Creative jobs in journalism, politics, entertainment, the arts, fashion and design High incomes Few demands on social services Few serious social problems Degree level education Arts or humanities Children perform well at school Good health levels Regular exercise, varied diet Devotees of extreme sports Low level of car ownership and usage Public transport Cycle to work Internet Mobile phone Face to face Local papers Spacious semi-detached family houses built between 1930s and 1960s Owner-occupied Manual and white collar Middle class and skilled working class Low unemployment Low levels of social deprivation Adequate performance at school Average level of university education/ degrees Average levels of health Receptive to health messages via mass media Multiple car households Internet Telephone/ Mobile phone Post Face to face Small terraced houses, densely packed High proportion of tenants, some owner occupied Below average income Semi-skilled or unskilled labour Routine occupations High unemployment High demand for young children s social services Low levels of educational attainment Few qualifications, limited skills No further education Poor levels of health Vulnerable to number of health conditions such as diabetes Low car ownership Public transport SMS Interactive TV National & local papers Telephone Post Anke Taylor 25 March 2013

26 When looking at the characteristics of each group it is clear that they share traits, but also display notable differences. Group G Groups G and I seem to be of a similar age, although their economic and educational backgrounds are completely different. Groups G and E are both fairly financially secure even though group E is likely to be older with a more stable family life. Also, groups G and E seem to use similar communication channels (internet, smart phones) and appear to be very good at finding information relevant to them without needing face to face contact, while group I s likelihood and ability to self serve is smaller, i.e. messages to them probably need to be pushed. Both groups G and E are likely to cycle by choice for lifestyle reasons, with the student population of group G potentially also using their bikes because it is an inexpensive mode of transport. In contrast, group I is likely to be dependent on either using cycles or public transport as a means for travelling, as car ownership is low due to their low income. Consequently, the road safety message and delivery method needs to be tweaked according to which group or groups are targeted. 20 Engaging with group G would achieve the highest reduction in risk as they are disproportionally represented in the casualty stats. Targeting groups E and I would cover those groups with the highest casualty numbers, but would probably also require more resources to achieve a reduction in risk similar to that of group G as their pedal cycle casualty numbers are proportionate to their share in the overall population. Furthermore, the identified MOSAIC groups are not equally represented across Yorkshire and the Humber, i.e. the concentration of these groups varies between the individual sub-regions. For example, Group G s are more concentrated in West, North and South Yorkshire, but their likelihood to live in Humberside is below average, whereas there are average to above average concentrations of group I s in areas of South Yorkshire and Humberside. This in turn means that targeting these groups on a Yorkshire & Humber wide basis will probably have a greater casualty reduction effect in one area where these groups account for a sizeable number of inhabitants than in another where these groups make up a smaller share of the local population. However, it is believed that any adult cyclist road safety campaign even though targeted at a specific group or groups will inevitably interest many adult cyclists and also touch upon other MOSAIC groups as they are likely to share at least some attributes. 20 It should be borne in mind that more than 60% of Y&H cycle casualties do not belong to these groups and might therefore not benefit from any road safety intervention. However, as these casualties are split between the other 12 MOSAIC groups it would at any rate be extremely difficult to specifically target them. Anke Taylor 27 March 2013

27 CONCLUSIONS Nationally and also in Yorkshire & the Humber, cycling levels have been following a general growing trend in recent years. This is no doubt partly due to the increase of cycling s popularity as a lifestyle mode of transport as well as a leisure activity, but probably also a consequence of the economic downturn. Cycling has health, environmental and societal benefits and is to be encouraged, as pedal cycles take less space on the roads, produce virtually zero emissions and do not pose significant risk to other road users. Cyclists benefit as well as society, with the associated health benefits of being physically active. 21 Along with the cycle traffic, casualty trends have also been rising: in Yorkshire & the Humber, there has been an increase in all severity adult cycle casualties of 48% between 2004 and 2011, 13% alone between 2009 and This worrying upwards trend is similar for cycle KSI casualties: 42% and 10% respectively. The key results of the analysis are that most crashes are multi-vehicle collisions predominantly involving cars and bicycles and happen in built up areas at or near junctions during weekday commuting times, mainly during spring, summer and early autumn months. It is difficult to assess which party is to blame in collisions involving bicycles and motor vehicles but 'failing to look' is the most common causation factor mentioned. Therefore any campaign needs to communicate with both target audiences. Both the drivers and the pedal cyclists tend to be men of working age from Yorkshire & the Humber and a considerable proportion are travelling for work. Interestingly, neither the motorists nor the adult cycle casualties are the most affluent or most deprived. The research therefore seems to suggest two approaches that might assist to improve the safety of pedal cyclists on Yorkshire & Humber roads: firstly, considering that 96% of cycle collisions are multiple vehicle crashes especially involving cars, initiatives could evolve around raising awareness of cyclists amongst drivers similarly to or as part of the Someone s Son campaign for motorcyclists. Secondly, we need to engage with the cyclists themselves and talk about how they interact on the roads, the risks involved and how these can be minimised through prudent and responsible riding. Combining both interventions could be a key to improving safety among this vulnerable road user group. 21 PACTS: Cycle Safety Policy Briefing for MPs, p. 3 Anke Taylor 28 March 2013

28 APPENDIX MOSAIC profile of car drivers involved in pedal cycle collisions Source: MAST Anke Taylor 29 March 2013

29 Car driver MOSAIC: Group E Anke Taylor 30 March 2013

30 Car driver MOSAIC: Group J Anke Taylor 31 March 2013

31 Car driver MOSAIC: Group I Anke Taylor 32 March 2013

32 Car driver MOSAIC: Group K Anke Taylor 33 March 2013

33 MOSAIC profile of car drivers involved in pedal cycle collisions on urban roads Source: MAST Anke Taylor 34 March 2013

34 MOSAIC profile of car drivers involved in pedal cycle collisions on rural roads Source: MAST Anke Taylor 35 March 2013

35 Adult Pedal Cyclist MOSAIC profile: urban roads Source: MAST Anke Taylor 36 March 2013

36 Adult Pedal Cyclist MOSAIC profile: rural roads Source: MAST Anke Taylor 37 March 2013