Abstract
As compared with 183 injured bicyclists recorded by the police during 1996, 1,541 were recorded in the Rhône Road Crash Trauma Registry, which includes, for each road crash casualty, the data provided by all the medical and surgical trauma emergency or care services concerned. The under-estimation by the police is especially large for bicyclists. Severity of injuries is increasing with age. Body regions most often injured are the upper (54% of casualties) and lower limbs (35%), the face (28%) and the head (20%). This body region distribution depends on age. 50% of AIS3 injuries are open or displaced fractures of the upper limb. Nearly all AIS4+ injuries are head injuries. Because of the exhaustiveness of the Registry, injuries to bicyclists show their real extent in comparison with other user types.