Orange County NC Website
In the following sections, Orange County Transportation Planning staff will present additional <br />information about bicyclist age, injury severity, race and sex of crash-involved bicyclists, crash types, <br />road conditions, and <br />light conditions. <br />Bicyclist Age <br />Of the 34 crashes <br />occurring in Orange <br />County between <br />January 1, 2007 and <br />December 31, 2013, <br />13 or 38% of <br />crashes involved <br />bicyclists between <br />the age of 50 and <br />59, while bicyclists <br />between the age of <br />20 and 24 and <br />bicyclists between <br />the age of 60 and 69 accounted for the second-highest affected age groups. It is unclear if older adults <br />represent a higher percentage of bicycle crashes or if crashes are equally distributed among the age <br />groups of riders in rural Orange County. <br />Injury Severity <br />Of the 34 bicycle crashes, three (3) crashes resulted in a fatality, seven (7) in a disabling injury, 15 in an <br />evident injury, seven (7) in a possible injury, and two (2) in no injury. Overall, more than one half of <br />crashes (64.7 percent) resulted <br />in a serious injury (disabling <br />and evident injuries). <br />Considering that 20 crashes <br />occurred in areas with a speed <br />limit of 40 – 45 miles per hour <br />and 11 crashes occurred in <br />areas with a speed limit of 50 – <br />55 miles per hour, these <br />severities are not surprising. <br />Only three (3) crashes occurred <br />in an area with a speed limit of <br />30 – 35 miles per hour. These <br />severities highlight the fact that crashes in rural areas are likely to be more severe, based on the higher <br />automobile speeds and limited space on rural roads to accommodate joint bicycle and automobile <br />traffic. <br />0% <br />5% <br />10% <br />15% <br />20% <br />25% <br />30% <br />35% <br />40% <br />0% <br />1 (3%) <br />0% <br />1 (3%) <br />5 (15%) <br />1 (3%) <br />4 (12%) <br />4 (12%) <br />13 (38%) <br />5 (15%) <br />0% <br />Age Groups <br />0-5 <br />6-10 <br />11-15 <br />16-19 <br />20-24 <br />25-29 <br />30-39 <br />40-49 <br />50-59 <br />0.0% <br />10.0% <br />20.0% <br />30.0% <br />40.0% <br />50.0% <br />K: KilledA: <br />Disabling <br />Injury <br />B: Evident <br />Injury <br />C: Possible <br />Injury <br />O: No <br />Injury <br />3 (8.8%) <br />7 (20.6%) <br />15 (44.1%) <br />7 (20.6%) <br />2 (5.9%) <br />Injury Severity <br />51