EPIDEMIOLOGY, CAUSES AND PREVENTION OF BICYCLE WHEEL ENTANGLEMENTS

The results of an indepth research to injuries due to bicycle wheel en tanglements in order to recommend effective prevention methods are giv en. The first part describes the results of a study into literature re garding spoke related injuries and preventive measures. In the second part epidemiological data regarding spoke injuries are given, The thir d part describes the results of an inquiry into spoke injuries involvi ng children by mailing questionnaires to parents of victims of bicycle wheel entanglements under thirteen years of age that were recorded by the Dutch home and leisure accidents surveillance system (PORS) in 19 88. It appeared that nearly all victims were passengers (98%). Only 2% of the victims were cycling themselves. All the passenger victims wer e injured by entanglement of a foot or ankle between the spokes. Most of them were sitting behind the saddle. More than half of them in a se at or having footrests. It appeared that none of the involved seats an d most of the involved bicycle wheels were supplied with wheel spoke c overs or overcoat guards. The common overcoat guards appeared to be to o frail to guarantee effective protection. Parents are not sufficientl y aware of spoke injury risks nor do they have adequate know-how to av oid this risk. It is recommended to develop safety criteria for effect ive spoke guards for bicycle wheels and seats combined with an informa tion campaign to parents how to prevent spoke injuries.