Socioeconomic inequalities in cycling safety: An analysis of cycling injury risk by residential deprivation level in England
Type: Journal Article Venue: Journal of Transport & Health Year: 2021
Abstract
Introduction Previous studies have found a positive association between cycling injury risk and residential deprivation. However, most of these studies focused on serious and fatal injuries, children, and a specific point in time. This study explores i) inequalities in cycling injury risk by residential deprivation for all recorded casualties (slight, serious, and fatal) in England, ii) whether these inequalities vary by sex and age, and iii) how they have changed over time. Methods Using the STATS19 database of road traffic casualties in Britain, the English National Travel Survey, and population estimates for England over the six-year period 2014–2019, we estimated the ratio of slight, serious, and fatal cycling casualties per billion kilometres cycled by residential Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintile; by residential IMD quintile and sex and age group; and by residential IMD quintile and year. Results We found that the higher the level of residential deprivation, the higher the slight and serious cycling injury risk. The fatal cycling injury risk was also higher in individuals from the most deprived areas. Inequalities were particularly large for children, with slight and serious rates three times higher for children from the most deprived areas than for children from the least deprived areas. We also found that the linear trend lines of the slight and serious injury rates between 2014 and 2019 declined in the least deprived quintiles but not in the most deprived quintiles, which suggests that inequalities in slight and serious cycling injuries may have grown over the last years. Conclusion This study found that people from deprived areas are at higher risk of cycling injury for all types of severity; that children from deprived areas are most at risk; and that these inequalities may have recently increased.
Citation
Eugeni Vidal Tortosa, Robin Lovelace, Eva Heinen, and Richard P. Mann (2021). Socioeconomic inequalities in cycling safety: An analysis of cycling injury risk by residential deprivation level in England. Journal of Transport & Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2021.101291
BibTeX
@article{vidaltortosa_socioeconomic_2021,
title = {Socioeconomic inequalities in cycling safety: {An} analysis of cycling injury risk by residential deprivation level in {England}},
volume = {23},
copyright = {Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence (CC-BY-SA)},
issn = {2214-1405},
shorttitle = {Socioeconomic inequalities in cycling safety},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140521003212},
doi = {10.1016/j.jth.2021.101291},
abstract = {Introduction
Previous studies have found a positive association between cycling injury risk and residential deprivation. However, most of these studies focused on serious and fatal injuries, children, and a specific point in time. This study explores i) inequalities in cycling injury risk by residential deprivation for all recorded casualties (slight, serious, and fatal) in England, ii) whether these inequalities vary by sex and age, and iii) how they have changed over time.
Methods
Using the STATS19 database of road traffic casualties in Britain, the English National Travel Survey, and population estimates for England over the six-year period 2014–2019, we estimated the ratio of slight, serious, and fatal cycling casualties per billion kilometres cycled by residential Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintile; by residential IMD quintile and sex and age group; and by residential IMD quintile and year.
Results
We found that the higher the level of residential deprivation, the higher the slight and serious cycling injury risk. The fatal cycling injury risk was also higher in individuals from the most deprived areas. Inequalities were particularly large for children, with slight and serious rates three times higher for children from the most deprived areas than for children from the least deprived areas. We also found that the linear trend lines of the slight and serious injury rates between 2014 and 2019 declined in the least deprived quintiles but not in the most deprived quintiles, which suggests that inequalities in slight and serious cycling injuries may have grown over the last years.
Conclusion
This study found that people from deprived areas are at higher risk of cycling injury for all types of severity; that children from deprived areas are most at risk; and that these inequalities may have recently increased.},
language = {en},
urldate = {2021-11-18},
journal = {Journal of Transport \& Health},
author = {Vidal Tortosa, Eugeni and Lovelace, Robin and Heinen, Eva and Mann, Richard P.},
month = dec,
year = {2021},
keywords = {Cycling, Deprivation, Inequalities, Road traffic injury, Trends},
pages = {101291},
}Notes
Impact Statement
This paper addresses a critical gap in transport safety literature: the intersection of active travel and social justice. It provides a rigorous quantitative analysis of how residential deprivation correlates with cycling injury risk in England. By utilizing large-scale injury data and deprivation indices, the research demonstrates that cyclists from the most deprived areas face a disproportionately higher risk of injury, even when accounting for exposure. This work is significant for its direct policy implications regarding “Vision Zero” goals, arguing that infrastructure investment must be equitably distributed to avoid exacerbating existing health inequalities. It challenges the “safety in numbers” narrative by showing that socioeconomic context is a primary moderator of risk.
Unit of Assessment: UoA 9 (Architecture, Built Environment and Planning).
Alternative UoA: UoA 2 (Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care).
PGR student co-author: True (Eugeni Vidal-Tortosa was a PhD candidate at Leeds during this work).
Potential for Double Weighting: No.
Author rating: Internal Leeds metric – typically 3* or 4*.
Author Contribution:
Vidal-Tortosa led the conceptualization, data processing, and primary statistical analysis as part of his doctoral research. Lovelace provided senior oversight, methodological guidance on spatial data analysis, and edited the manuscript. Mann and Heinen contributed to the experimental design and the interpretation of the health-transport nexus.