Cycling Accidents in Birmingham region

26 January 2010

Our Ref: FOI3709

[FOI #25209 email]>

YOUR REQUEST FOR INFORMATION UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000.

I refer to your enquiry received on 30 December 2009 for the following
information.

I'm seeking further details on road accidents involving bicycles for the
last three years. Could you please provide details of fatal and non-fatal
accidents involving bicycles (distinguishing between the two) and also
please state on what road and area of Birmingham these accidents happened.

Please find enclosed the following:

Please note:

1. that any accidents involving injury not reported to the Police and
accidents involving damage only are not included, as they are not
recorded by the Police.
2. Casualty Injury Definitions (an injured casualty is recorded as
serious or slightly injured by the Police on the basis of information
available within a short time of the accident. This generally will
not include the results of a medical examination, but may be
influenced by whether the casualty is hospitalised or not. Hospital
procedures will vary regionally)
Fatal Casualty: casualty who sustained injuries that caused death less
than 30 days after the accident (but excludes confirmed suicides)
Serious Injury: An injury for which a person is detained in hospital
as an in-patient, or any of the following injuries whether or not they
are detained in hospital: fractures, concussion, internal injuries,
crushing, severe cuts and lacerations, severe general shock requiring
medical treatment, injuries causing death 30 days or more after the
accident.
Slight Injury: An injury of a minor character such as a sprain, bruise
or cut which is not judged to be severe, or slight shock requiring
road side attention. This definition includes some injuries not
requiring medical treatment.

There have been 702 traffic accidents involving bicycles recorded by
the Police as occurring in Birmingham in the 3 year period to 31st
October 2009 (latest data), involving 3 fatal accidents, 93 serious
injury accidents and 606 slight injury accidents.

Of the 3 fatal accidents:

* 2 of the accidents occurred in daylight and 1 occurred in darkness
* 2 occurred on a dry road and 1 occurred on a wet road
* these accidents resulted in a total of 4 casualties - 3 fatal and 1
serious injury.

Of the 699 serious and slight injury accidents:

* 546 of the accidents occurred in daylight and 153 occurred in darkness
* 548 occurred on a dry road and 151 occurred on a wet road
* these accidents resulted in a total of 715 casualties - 93 serious and
622 slight injuries.

Please find attached Table 1 which identifies the road and area of
Birmingham where the fatal accidents occurred, and Table 2 which
identifies the road and area of Birmingham where the serious and slight
injury accidents occurred.

I hope this information is satisfactory for your requirements

If you are unhappy with the handling or the outcome of this request, you
are entitled to make a request for an internal review / appeal, such view
to be undertaken by Council officers not involved in the handling of your
request.

If you wish to take advantage of the internal appeal / review process,
this can be done by either contacting myself directly, or by contacting
the Corporate Information Manager at the following address quoting the
following reference FOI3709: -
The Corporate FOI Unit
First Floor
1 Lancaster Circus
Birmingham
B4 7AB

Tel No: 0121 303 4876
Email: [Birmingham City Council request email]

If, subsequently you are not satisfied with the Council***s decision you
may apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be
contacted at the following address:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545745
Web address: www.ico.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Dean Robinson
Freedom of Information and Data Protection Officer
Birmingham City Council
Development Directorate
Performance and Corporate Services
16th floor, Alpha Tower
Suffolk Street Queensway
Birmingham
B1 1TR

Tel: 0121 303 3912
Fax: 0121 303 2315
Email: [email address]

Re Use of Public Sector Information
Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use.

show quoted sections