Cyclists under the influence increasingly end up in the emergency room

The number of cyclists who ended up in the emergency department with serious injuries under the influence of alcohol has increased considerably in the past ten years. This is an increase of 84 percent between 2012 and 2021, according to a research published Friday by SafetyNL. At the request of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the knowledge center for injury prevention conducted research into alcohol and drug use among road users who were treated in the emergency department after an accident.

More than three-quarters of the victims were cyclists and men, according to the study. Most of them had consumed alcohol. The victims are not just young people, SecurityNL saw. More than half were between 20 and 49 years old. Three-quarters of the crashes were single-vehicle, in which no other road users were involved and no collision with an obstacle. The knowledge center warns that cycling under the influence is an underexposed problem.

The total number of road casualties who sustained serious injuries under the influence rose by 71 percent in the past ten years. In 2021, at least 6 percent of all road casualties who ended up in the emergency department had used alcohol and/or drugs.

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