Occupational injuries among Boston bicycle messengers

Dennerlein, Jack T.; Meeker, John D.

doi:10.1002/ajim.10144

Cited by 39 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…This was consistent with the study by Dennerlein and Meeker, 15 who found that the most common type of injury in their Boston commercial bicyclist cohort was bruising or contusions, and the most common cause for lost days of work was fractures. Our study found that commercial bicyclists sustained milder injuries overall.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Drawing the Curtain Back on Injured Commercial Bicyclists

et al. 2015

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Drawing the Curtain Back on Injured Commercial Bicyclists

et al. 2015

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“…Additionally, the bicycle's ambiguous legal position with regard to traffic laws is equally useful to the messenger. Dennerlein and Meeker (2003), in their small study of Boston bike messengers, found that couriers have an injury rate three times higher than meat-packers-an occupation long considered to be America's most dangerous. The national average for injuries in the workplace is 3.0 lost days of work annually per 100 workers; meat-packers lose 15.6 days.…”

Section: A Brief History Of the Bicycle Messengermentioning

confidence: 95%

“It’s the Job that I Love”: Bike Messengers and Edgework

Kidder

2006

Sociol Forum

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Bike messengers work in a dirty and dangerous occupation with low pay and no benefits. At the same time, many messengers consider their occupation to be their primary source of identity. In contrast to "dirty work" studies, which focus on organizational structures and workgroup ideologies, this paper explores how the creativity and spontaneity of courier labor allows messengers to become emotionally attached to their job. Bike messengering brings the thrill-seeking of leisure pursuits into the workplace, which creates an authentic self intimately tied to the occupation-an exceedingly difficult feat in an increasingly rationalized system of labor.

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“…The latter is expressed in a 6 tot 7-fold increase in hospital costs [3]. Since it is estimated that 60-90% of bicycle accidents are not reported this number significantly underestimates the real number of yearly accidents [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Nonfatal Bicycle Accident Risk After an Evening of Alcohol Consumption

Verster¹,

Herwijnen²,

Volkerts³

et al. 2008

TOADDJ

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Abstract:Introduction: After an evening of alcohol consumption, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) may reach intoxication levels above legal limits for operating a car or bicycle. In the Netherlands, legal limits for participating in traffic are 0.05% for experienced drivers and 0.02% for novice drivers. The purpose of this study was to determine bicycle accident risk of Dutch students after an evening of alcohol consumption.Methods: A survey was conducted among 800 University and college students in Utrecht, The Netherlands. The survey included retrospective questions concerning alcohol consumption on a typical night out and the start and end time of consumption. For those who travel home by bicycle, BAC was computed and relative risk of having a bicycle accident. Finally, they reported the likelihood (0 -100 %) that they would consume less alcohol when police controls for drunk bicycling were comparable to those for car drivers (with a similar chance of getting caught and a similar fine for driving when drunk).Results: 761 surveys (95.3 %) were eligible for statistical evaluation. 690 students reported going to the pub for a night out, on average 1.6 times per week. 445 students (64.5 %) reported traveling home by bicycle often or always. They reported drinking an average of 6.8 alcoholic drinks (Standardized drinks contain 12 gram alcohol) and their mean (SD) BAC when traveling home was 0.95 (0.9)%. The percentage of past year accidents or injury among those traveling home by bicycle often or always but consumed no alcohol (BAC=0%) was 2%. Alcohol consumption significantly increased the risk of bicycle accidents (Odds ratio: 6.8). Odds ratio of having a bicycle accident increased exponentially when having a higher BAC: 2.5 (BAC = 0-0.2%), 6.8 (BAC = 0.2-0.5%), 6.0 (BAC = 0.5-1.0%), 16.4 (BAC = 1.0-1.5%) and 11.1 (BAC > 1.5%). Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant (p<0.006) relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of a bicycle accident. Students who travel home by bicycle report that there is a 41.9% chance that they will consume less alcohol on a night out when police controls for driving drunk are the same as for car drivers. This was not related to BAC levels.Conclusions: On average, students have blood alcohol concentrations that are five-fold higher than allowed to participate in traffic. Nevertheless, most of them travel home by bicycle after an evening of alcohol consumption. This is of great concern, since the risk of having a bicycle accident increases with higher BAC levels.

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Occupational injuries among Boston bicycle messengers

Abstract: Urban bicycle messengers are a poorly documented, largely unstudied workforce who suffer a very high rate of occupational injury.

Cited by 39 publications

References 15 publications

Drawing the Curtain Back on Injured Commercial Bicyclists

Drawing the Curtain Back on Injured Commercial Bicyclists

“It’s the Job that I Love”: Bike Messengers and Edgework

Nonfatal Bicycle Accident Risk After an Evening of Alcohol Consumption

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