Professor Masao Ichikawa of the University of Tsukuba, University of Tsukuba, Johns Hopkins University It was found in a survey by Haruhiko Inada, a researcher at the Graduate School of Public Health.It is said that the shift in transportation will lead to a reduction in fatalities and injuries, but this is the first time that it has been demonstrated at the local level.
According to the University of Tsukuba, Professor Ichikawa et al. Based on the data on the deaths and injuries of junior high school students who are commuting to school from 2004 to 2013, it is difficult to go to school by bicycle in prefectures in heavy snowfall areas where it snows more than 1 meter per month. We analyzed changes in the rate of traffic deaths and serious injuries.
As a result, it was found that the traffic death / serious injury rate of bicycles became almost zero during heavy snowfall, and the total traffic death / serious injury rate of bicycles and pedestrians decreased by 68%.Professor Ichikawa and his colleagues believe that by switching the means of transportation used for commuting to school to safer means such as public transportation, traffic casualties can be greatly reduced.
It is said that more than 130 million people are killed and more than 5,400 million are injured every year in traffic accidents around the world.It is well known in Japan that junior high school students who go to school by bicycle have a high risk of death or injury.It has been thought that switching to safer modes of transportation has the effect of reducing casualties, but so far no cases have been demonstrated at the national or regional level.
Paper information:[Journal of Epidemiology] Reduced road injuries while commuting due to heavy snowfall and ensuing modal shifts among junior high school students in Japan
