Trends in Vulnerable Road Users Injuries in Major Canadian Cities

Brice Batomen Kuimi, PhD

Assistant Professor | Dalla Lana School of Public Health | University of Toronto

WHERE: Hybrid | 2001 McGill College, Rm 1140 | Zoom

Note: Brice Batomen Kuimi will be presenting in-person from 2001 McGill College, Rm 1140

Abstract

Profound shifts in transportation patterns ensued with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the first wave of the pandemic, several cities across North America launched active transportation efforts to support walking and cycling when physical distancing measures were still in place. This included expanding bicycling networks, shared public spaces, and pedestrian-only streets. In parallel, there was a shift from public transit to private cars, potentially impacting road users differently. Vulnerable Road users may now face greater safety risks. As active transportation options, cycling and walking have numerous benefits for individuals and the environment, but safety is a major public health concern. This presentation examines pedestrian and bicyclist injuries before and during the pandemic (2012 – 2022) in several Canadian cities using police-reported killed or severely injured (KSI), emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalization data.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, attendees will:

• Understand the advantage of conducting an Interrupted Time Series using the simulation approach;
• Understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on on vulnerable road users using several data sources and utilizing data beyond the first year of the pandemic;
• Discuss how the lack of high-quality data with temporal granularity for motor vehicles, pedestrian and bicycle, volume, motor vehicle speed limit current studies.

Speaker Bio

Brice Batomen is an epidemiologist, Assistant Professor in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. His work focuses on access to trauma care and injury prevention in Canada. His current research goals aim to identify the characteristics of the road network that promote active transportation and safety using innovative data collection and analytic methods. He earned his PhD in epidemiology at McGill University, after completing his Master of Science in epidemiology at Laval University, and his undergraduate studies in Biomedical Sciences at Dschang University, Cameroon.