イタルダ インフォメーション

ITARDA INFORMATION
交通事故分析レポート No.110lSpeciafeatureAngle collisions leading to fataland serious injuries of old-old bicycle riders
20％

100,000

6,943

Fatal and serious injuries

80,000

9,798

9,595
15％

12,31660,00010％

9,219
40,0008,030
60,9695％

Fatal and serious injury rateof old-old adults (aged 75 or over)

18.8％

75yrs or over
65 ‒ 74 yrs
64yrs or under
For 75yrs or overInjury level: Fataland serious injury
Parties: Total of primary,secondary and tertiary parties

20,00074,3130

1993（n=91,054）

31,6712003（n=82,880）

2013

0％

（n=48,920）

Fig.1 Change in fatal and serious injuries
and rate of old-old adults

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3 Typical case examples of accidents・
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l
SpeciafeatureAngle collisions leading to fatal and serious injuries of old-old bicycle riders

1 Introduction
The fatal and serious injuries of 2013 CY stand at 48,920 people. Although this number has reduced tohalf in the past 20 years, the rate of fatal and serious injuries of old-old adults aged 75 years or over isparticularly high at 18.8% of the total in 2013 (Fig.1), which is over 12.3% of the composition rate of theold-old population. Analyzing the situations and circumstances where these old-old adults sustained fataland serious injuries, apparently, “while walking” tops the list, followed by “while riding bicycles” (Fig.2).
The accident statistics of elderly pedestrians have been covered in our previous issues of ITARDA
Information1)2)3), so that in this issue we will focus on the accidents of bicycle riding old-old adults.
When seen by accident type, old-old bicycle riders were involved in “angle collisions” in more than half ofthe total (Fig.3) and in 90% of the cases, the other party involved was four-wheeled vehicles. Therefore,
we will focus our study on the “angle collisions of old-old bicycle riders with four-wheeled vehicles
leading to fatal and serious injuries”.
100％

6％

80％

11％

17％

12％

Traﬃc positionand situation
Others (train etc.)
Fellow passenger

4％
10％

14％

60％

Riding twowheeled vehicle
Driving fourwheeled vehicle
Walking

49％

40％

40％

40％

20％
23％
0％

24％

23％

Riding bicycle

100％

Composition rate of fataland serious injury accidents

Composition rate of fatallyand seriously injured adults

18％

9％

Injury level: Fatal andserious injury
Age: 75 yrs or over
1993
2003
2013
Parties: Total of primary,（n=6,943） （n=9,595） （n=9,219） secondary and tertiary parties

Fig.2 Classification of fatally and seriously injured
adults by their traffic position and situation

11％

12％

10％

11％

12％

10％

7％

5％

80％

60％

9％
9％
11％
7％

Accident type
Train
Single vehicle
Vehicle to vehicle,
othersTurning rightTurning left
Passing
Overtaking
Rear end collision

40％

Frontal collision

20％

48％

51％

50％

Pedestrian to vehicle
Angle collision

0％
75 yrsTotal ofor over
all ages（n=11,129）（n=10,975）（n=61,215）
65-74 yrs

Accident detail:
Fatal and serious injury
Data year: 2009-2013
Party: Bicycles (primary+ secondary)Fig.3 Type of fatal and serious
injury accidents of bicycle riders

Accident characteristics
2 (Angle collisions of old-old bicycle riders leading to fatal and serious injuries)
The classification of the place of occurrence of fatal and serious injury accidents of old-old bicycle riders byroad configuration (with or without traffic signals for intersections) indicates that about 70% (Fig. 4) of theold-old bicycle riders met with accidents at “Intersections without traffic signals,” same as the riders of otherage groups. Further, on the basis of halt regulation at intersections*1 (Fig.5)*2, accidents occurred more
often at "intersections without traffic signal and with halt regulation for bicycles" in the case of 40% of theold-old drivers. Thus, using this composition rate, the order of fatal and serious injuries is, (1st) intersection
without traffic signal (no halt regulation for four-wheeled vehicle or bicycle*3) , (2nd) intersection without
traffic signal (halt regulation only for bicycle), (3rd) intersection with traffic signal and (4th) non-intersection;
together these four comprise 86% of the total (Fig.6).
Further, we compared the accident data of old-old bicycle riders with other age groups (average of allages) on the basis of the above 4 patterns by “time” and “place” of occurrence (Table 1). Sparing thedetails, the comparison shows that accidents involving old-old riders occurred more often in the morning
hours at non-urban areas, especially within the 500 meter-area around their homes. Also, the rates ofother party of four-wheeled vehicle being a commercial vehicle and driven by elderly drivers were high.
Moreover, as seen in Table 2, old-old bicycle riders meet with fatal and serious accidents when they
violate traffic rules (such as “obstructing priority traffic”, “not stopping at halt signs”, “ignoring traffic
signals”, “violating crossing prohibition”, and so on) when the four-wheeled vehicle parties are moving
straight or crossing without expecting any such thing, clubbed with the latter’s “failure to pay attention
forward (intrinsic/extrinsic factors)” and “failure to observe surrounding traffic movements”.
In chapter 3, typical case examples of the four aforementioned patterns of accidents are described.
ITARDA INFORMATION no.110

ITARDA INFORMATION no.110

100％

100％

Road conﬁguration

14％

17％

16％

Railway crossing
Non-intersection

60％

Near intersection
Intersection
with traﬃc signal

40％
64％

67％

67％

20％

0％
65-74 yrs

75 yrsTotal ofall agesor over（n=4,544） （n=4,988） （n=25,905）

Intersection without
traﬃc signal

Composition rate of fataland serious injury accidents

Composition rate of fataland serious injury accidents

General traﬃc area

80％
17％

Halt regulation status

12％

13％

Accident detail:
Fatal and serious injury
Data year: 2009-2013
Accident type: Angle collision
Parties: Bicycle (primary +secondary)4-W vehicle (secondary +primary)

80％

Regulated forboth parties

43％

45％

No regulation
for both parties

46％

Only for4-W vehicles

60％

Only for bicycles

22％

14％

19％

40％

20％

33％

40％

34％

0％
65-74 yrs

75 yrsTotal ofall agesor over（n=5,126） （n=4,390） （n=28,038）

Accident detail:
Fatal and serious injury
Data year: 2001-2006
Accident type: Angle collision
Parties: Bicycle (primary +secondary)4-W vehicle (secondary +primary)
Place of occurrence:
Intersection without
traﬃc signal

Age of bicycle riders

Age of bicycle riders

Fig.4 Rate of accidents byroad configuration

Fig.5 Rate of accidents byhalt regulation status*1: If there is a halt sign before an intersection, one should stop just before the stop line (Article 43 of Road Traffic Law).
*2: As the data for “with or without halt regulation” has been omitted in the accident database of National Police Agency since 2007, the data for 2001 to 2006 isprovided here.
*3: “No halt regulation for both parties” shall correspond to those intersections etc. on roads with priority lane on one side or on wide roads, where there are no halt
signs for both parties.

Fatal and serious accidents

1,600

Accident detail:
Fatal and serious injury
Data year: 2009-2013
Accident type: Angle collision
Parties: Bicycle (primary +secondary)4-W vehicle (secondary +primary)Age of bicycle riders:
75yrs or over

30％

1,400
27％

1,200
1,000
800
600

16％
13％

400
* For halt regulation at intersection
without traﬃc signal,
the composition rate of 2001
to 2006 (Fig.5) is applied.

200
0Intersection
Halt
with
regulation
traﬃc signal for bothparties

Only forbicyclesOnly for No regulation
Near
Non4-W vehicles
forintersection intersection
both parties

Railway
crossing

Generaltraﬃc area
(parking lots,
squares etc.)

Intersection without traﬃc signal*

Fig.6 Accidents by road confguration and halt regulation status

ITARDA INFORMATION no.110

lSpeciafeatureAngle collisions leading to fatal and serious injuries of old-old bicycle riders

Table 1 Characteristics of old-old bicycle riders
in angle collisions leading to fatal and serious injuries
Road configuration(1) Intersection without
traffic signal (no halt
regulation for 4-W vehicle
or bicycle)

Characteristics more common
in old-old riders thanother age groups

Common characteristics
regardless of road configurationof accident site

Peculiarcharacteristics
by roadconfigurationof accident
site(2) Intersection without
traffic signal (haltregulation only for bicycle)(3) Intersection withtraffic signal(4) Non-intersection

Time of occurrence: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Place of occurrence: Non-urban area within 500 meter area around home
Other party:
Commercial vehicle, older drivers of 65yrs or overAccident situation: Occurred when the old-old bicycle rider was crossing and the 4-W vehicle failed to pay
attention forward (intrinsic/extrinsic factors) and failed to observe surrounding traffic
movements

Movement type of
4-W vehicle

Driving with constant high speed

Accelerate, starting up(low speed zones)

Driving with constanthigh speed

Violation, humanfactors of old-old
bicycle riders

Obstruct priority traffic

Not stopping at halt signs

Ignore traffic signals

Violate crossing
prohibition

Case example-A

Case example-B

Case example-C

Case example-D

Typical case examples described in chapter 3

Table 2 Occurrence structure of angle collisionsof old-old bicycle riders leading to fatal and serious injuries
Status of 4-W vehicle drivers

Status of older bicycle riders

Background/factors
・Self-conceited and negligent driving on accustomed roads

Background/factors
・Usually make dangerous moves; overconfidence/dependent
on other party
・Deterioration of physical and mental abilities with age

Background/factors
・Was driving as usual
・Realize that he/she failed to pay attention forward(intrinsic/extrinsic factors) and failed to observe surrounding
traffic movements, but never expected that the bicycle would
come crossing.

Standpoint of older bicycle riders
・Was only acting usual
・Never expected that the vehicle would come closer! I did checksafety properly…It was alright until now…
・Unbelievable, how come the vehicle did not take notice of me!

Result・Owing to differences in traffic standpoints and individual attributes of the parties, and without really understanding the other party’s
practical sense and realities, either party never expected that the other party would do something impractical, which finally led tofatal and serious accidents.

ITARDA INFORMATION no.110

ITARDA INFORMATION no.110

3 Typical case examples of accidents■Case example-A: Accident at intersection without traffic signal (no halt regulation
for bicycle and four-wheeled vehicles)
The accident occurred at an intersection without traffic signal of roads with widths 6.7m and 3m. Mr.A in
his early sixties was driving a car at 60km/h on a priority road. When he approached an intersection
without traffic signal all of a sudden a bicycle ran into his car from left. In a fluster Mr. A pressed thebrake, but it was too late and ended in an angle collision with the bicycle (Photo 1). Mr.A drove on thisroad many times a week and though he knew the existence of intersections with obstructed view, but
seldom did he encounter any vehicle crossing the road. Also, because he drove on the priority road, henever expected any bicycle to run into his car.
On the other hand, Mr.B in his early eighties was taking a stroll on his bicycle. Although the details are
not available, there were bushes on either side of the road he was on and he seemed to have crossed
the road just before Mr.A, without adequately checking safety.
Though he was driving on the priority road, had Mr.A been more careful about the possibility of traffic
inflow from crossing roads, he could have perceived Mr.B’s movement ahead of time. Meanwhile if Mr.B
had stopped at the intersection and checked the safety on both sides before proceeding, he could haveavoided this angle collision.
Site of collision(View from a distance of 10m from the driving
direction of Mr.A)

A

6.7m

Car

B

3m

B

BicycleA

From the riding direction of Mr.B
(View from a distance of 20m from the siteof collision)

From the driving direction of Mr.A
(View from a distance of 50m from the siteof collision)

B

A

Date and time of accident: June, 15:00 hours, clear and bright day
Place: Intersection of general road (6.7m) and municipal road (3m)
Mr.A: in his early sixties, driving a sedan car with no accident or violation record in the past 3 years.
Mr.B: in his early eighties, sustained serious injuries (traumatic pneumothorax, fractured thighbone etc.),
did not possess a driver’s license.

Photo 1: Accident outline of case example-A
ITARDA INFORMATION no.110

lSpeciafeatureAngle collisions leading to fatal and serious injuries of old-old bicycle riders■Case example-B: Accident at intersection without traffic signal (halt regulation only
for bicycle)
This accident occurred at an intersection without traffic signal of a 3m wide bicycle-only road and a 6m
wide prefectural road (Photo 2). Mr.A in his early seventies was driving a car on the priority road at a
speed of 50 km/h overshooting the speed limit of 40 km//h and approached the intersection. All of asudden Ms.B, in her late seventies who was riding a bicycle ran into his car from left. Mr.A applied asudden brake but just could not avoid the collision. Mr.A, who was the leading vehicle, had stopped at
the previous intersection with traffic signal and as soon as the signal turned green, he rapidly
accelerated his car to 50 km/h. Although he was aware of the existence of a crossing road next, he never
expected a bicycle to just run into him as he was driving on a priority road.
Whereas Ms.B who happened to check for any approaching vehicle on her left side which she had anopen view of, did not stop as no vehicle was coming from that side.
Granting that Mr.A was driving on the priority road, had he observed the traffic rules (speed limit of thatzone) and checked safety around the intersection while transiting the pedestrian crossing, he could havenoticed Ms.B who was not likely to stop her bicycle. As for Ms.B, even if the traffic at the intersection she
was about to pass was sparse, had she stopped her bicycle and checked safety on both sides before
proceeding, she could have avoided this angle collision.

3m

oad

cle r

Bicy

Sidewalk

Site of collision(View from a distance of 10m from the driving
direction of Mr.A)

Stop

Stop line
Intersection
with traﬃcsignal6m
2.5m

Sidewalk

Car

A

B

Stop

A
B Bicycle
From the riding direction of Ms.B
(View from a distance of 50m from the siteof collision)

From the driving direction of Mr.A
(View from a distance of 50m from the siteof collision)

A
B
Date and time of accident: July, 08:00 hours, cloudy but bright day
Place: Intersection without traffic signal of prefectural road (6m) and bicycle road (3m)
Mr.A: in his early seventies, driving a sedan car with no accident or violation record in the past 3 years.
Ms.B: in her late seventies, sustained serious injuries (cerebral damage), did not possess a driver’s license, was riding
an electric assist bicycle.

Photo 2: Accident outline of case example-B
ITARDA INFORMATION no.110

ITARDA INFORMATION no.110■Case example-C: Accident at an intersection with traffic signal
This is a case example of an angle collision that occurred at an intersection of a national road of width
15m (Photo 3). Mr.B who was in his late forties was driving a commercial vehicle on the second lane of
the road. He had noticed a few vehicles waiting at the traffic signal ahead on the same lane as his.
Seeing the signal turning green just about the time he was approaching the intersection and that the firstlane was vacant, he changed the lane and speeded through the intersection. Suddenly he noticed abicycle crossing from his right on the pedestrian crossing. Although he applied brake, it was too late andhe crashed into the bicycle. He never imagined that a bicycle would run into him through the pedestriancrossing ignoring the traffic signal.
On the other hand, Mr.A (in his late seventies) who was riding the bicycle, died in this accident.
According to a witness, apparently Mr.A had entered the intersection when the signal was red. As thesignal had just turned green for the traffic on his right and could see that they had not yet started moving,he may have hoped that he could somehow cross the road.
The accident could have been prevented if Mr.A had inculcated the habit of intently confirming the statusof the traffic signal and “sufficiently wait when the signal is red”. Further, even if he was passing throughthe intersection when the traffic signal was green, had Mr.B been careful about any sudden crossing by abicycle or had he anticipated that there could still be bicycles or pedestrians who had not finishedcrossing the road at the change of the signal, this accident would not have occurred.

BicycleSite of collision(View from a distance of 30m from the driving
direction of Mr.B)

A

A
Witnessing vehicle

B Commercial vehicle

From the riding direction of Mr.A
(Pedestrian crossing; 30m away from the siteof collision)

B
From the driving direction of Mr.B
(100m away from the site of collision)

A
B
Date and time of accident: February, 11:00 hours, clear and bright day
Place: Intersection with traffic signal of a national road (15m wide)
Mr.A: in his late seventies, riding the bicycle, died, did not possess a driver’s license.
Mr.B: in his late forties, driving a commercial vehicle with no accident or violation record in the past 3 years.

Photo 3: Accident outline of case example-C
ITARDA INFORMATION no.110

lSpeciafeatureAngle collisions leading to fatal and serious injuries of old-old bicycle riders■Case example-D: Accident at non-intersection
In this case example, an angle collision that occurred at non-intersection, with a road width of 13m(Photo 4) is explained. Ms.A, in her early thirties was driving a car on a priority road at a speed of
50km/h. The speed limit in this zone was 60km/h. She collided with Mr.B, in his late eighties who wasriding a bicycle and crossing from the left side of Ms. A. Although Ms.A had noticed Mr.B, but as she
never expected him to turn up on the road, she took her attention off him. Before she could realize, Mr.B
had already approached near the middle of the road. She quickly applied the brake, but it was too lateand she collided with Mr.B.
Meanwhile, Mr.B had stopped at the sidewalk and confirmed that there were no approaching vehicles onboth sides before he entered the road. Thereafter, it was when he had already entered the second laneof the road, that he noticed the approaching car of Ms.A. Even though the eyesight of Mr.B is good inboth eyes, he may have been unable to accurately recognize the approaching car on his right side froma wide background (deterioration of kinetic vision and depth perception), or it may be possible that his
visual field was constricted due to old age.
In this case example, had Ms.A been cautious about the movements of Mr.B, and had Mr.B been able tocorrectly recognize the approaching vehicle of Ms.A, he would have restrained himself from crossing theroad, and thus this accident could have been prevented.

Site of collision(View from a distance of 10m from the driving
direction of Ms.A)

SidewalkMedian6.5m

BA

Sidewalk

A

Car

4.3m

B

BicycleFrom the riding direction of Mr.B
(Crossed over to the opposite lane by passing
through an opening in the median; view froma distance of 30m)

From the driving direction of Ms.A
(View from a distance of 70m from the siteof collision)

A
B
A
Date and time of accident: April, 08:00 hours, clear and bright day
Place: Non-intersection of a major local road (13m)
Ms.A: in her early thirties, driving a minivan with no accident and one violation record in the past 3 years.
Mr.B: in his late eighties, sustained serious injuries (fractured humerus); did not possess a driver’s license.

Photo 4: Accident outline of case example-D
ITARDA INFORMATION no.110

Four-wheeled vehicle drivers:
・While driving on familiar roads if there are areas of concern such as intersections with
obstructed view etc., they should control their speed anticipating any unexpected movementof the elderly people.
・If they notice any elderly person riding a bicycle near their driving direction, they should
control their driving speed and temporarily turn on the headlights even if it is daytime, thus
making themselves more conspicuous.

(Takashi Takemoto)イタルダインフォメーションに関するお問い合せ先 渉外事業課

TEL 03-5577-3973

FAX 03-5577-3980

公益財団法人 交通事故総合分析センター●ウェブサイト http://www.itarda.or.jp/●E メール koho@itarda.or.jp

つくば 交通事故調査事務所〒101-0064 東京都千代田区猿楽町2-7-8 住友水道橋ビル8階
TEL 03-5577-3977(代表) FAX 03-5577-3980

ITARDA INFORMATION no.110

273

住 友 水 道 橋 ビル８ 階

References:1) ITARDA information (2010); Senior pedestrian accidents, 10.
2) ITARDA information (2011); Nighttime fatal accidents involving senior pedestrians, 02-87.
3) Kenji Funayama (2011); Senior pedestrians: Analysis of accidents while crossing the road;
http://www.itarda.or.jp/ws/pdf/h23/14_03oudan.pdf4) Haruo Suzuki (2007); Actual status and countermeasures for senior driver accidents-preventive measures newsletter, 1-228, pp 14-19.
5) Yoshihiro Kanemitsu (2003); Actual status of abnormal field of vision in senior drivers; Academic Journal of Kawasaki Institute of Medical
Welfare; 13-2, pp 257-262.

No.110

公益財団法人 交通事故総合分析センター〒101 0064 東 京 都 千 代 田 区 猿 楽 町 ２ ７ ８Elderly bicycle riders:・Should become more safety-conscious by regularly inspecting the risky areas of the roads
they frequent and “refrain from crossing big roads and instead modify their routes to where
there are traffic signals,” and “at intersections with obstructed view, they should get downfrom the bicycle and check safety before proceeding”. It is also advisable to take time withfamily to check on the usual traffic behavior together.
・Eyesight tends to weaken with age before one is aware of it 4). Therefore it is advisable toget regular eye check-ups and be aware of one’s condition that will make one more prudent
in his/her actions.
・Should absolutely refrain from committing violations such as “obstructing priority traffic”,“not stopping at halt signs”, “ignoring traffic signals”, etc.
・Even at daytime turn on the bicycle light to make one more conspicuous to others.
In order to build a safe and secure society for very elderly people, active social participationis necessary. Social systems such as driving courses for the elderly and regional activities
shall be proposed in a planned manner with extensive revision, consideration andthoughtfulness going into bicycle safety (including electric assist bicycles) for elderly riders,both from the standpoint of bicycle riders as well as the four-wheeled vehicle drivers. In
addition, social initiatives that help the elderly riders in realizing the decline in their physicalabilities especially kinetic vision, depth perception and eyesight 5), are also necessary.

ITARDA INFORMATION

The typical characteristics of the “angle collisions of old-old bicycle riders with four-wheeled vehicles
leading to fatal and serious injuries” as compared to riders of other age groups are as follows.
・More likely to occur in the morning hours and in non-urban areas, and the rate of accidents
occurring within 500m of their homes is high.
・Old-old bicycle riders tend to meet with fatal and serious accidents when they violate traffic
rules such as “obstructing priority traffic”, “not stopping at halt signs”, “ignoring traffic
signals”, “violating crossing prohibition”, and so on when the four-wheeled vehicle partiesare driving without expecting any of these, clubbed with the failure to pay attention forward
and failure to observe surrounding traffic movements by the latter.
Such fatal and serious accidents may be prevented by being cautious of the following.

交通事故分析レポート

4 Conclusion