The number of accidents involving cyclists in Switzerland has shot up in recent years and there are reasons to explain the rise.
The increasing use of headphones while riding is mainly to blame as the number of accidents jumping 50 percent in 10 years, according to Switzerland’s oldest social insurance institution.
Between 2018 and 2022, a total 26,100 accidents involving cyclists on Swiss roads, up from 17,400 between 2008 and 2012, according to a report by Swiss national accident insurance fund Suva.
More than four-fifths of all cycling accidents – 84 percent – were caused by a loss of control when riders were distracted or not paying full attention, usually when they were using headphones or mobile telephones, the insurance fund said.
The increase in road accidents involving bicycles is greatest in the 55 to 64 age group, where the number of accidents jumped 104 percent from 2,300 in between 2008 and 2012, to 4,700 between 2018 and 2022.
Of those, more than 800 people were seriously injured in cycling accidents each year between 2019 and 2023, while around 20 died, the Bureau de prévention des accidents has reported. More than half of serious cycling (54%) and e-bike (57%) accidents were solo accidents, meaning no other vehicle was involved.
Suva said that cycling has become increasingly popular among policyholders in the 55 to 64 age group. But it also noted that the number of cycling accidents peaked in 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when more people in Switzerland were using bicycles as a means of transportation.
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Surveys carried out in 2023 found that a fifth of cyclists said they had been distracted while out on the road on their bicycles. Among 15- to 29-year-olds, wearing headphones was reported to be the main source of distraction; while, among the 30 to 44 age group, mobile phones and headphones were found to be equally distracting.
“When you’re cycling, it’s important to concentrate on what’s happening on the road so that you always have an overview,” Andrea Lenz, head of cycling accident prevention at Suva, said.
“Our prevention measures teach road users to react correctly to dangers, for example by adapting their speed, signalling clearly and remaining clearly visible.”
In Switzerland it is illegal to listen to music when cycling. According to Axa insurance “the same rules apply to cyclists as to all other road users: Your attention must not be distracted by listening to audio devices or the like. If you’re listening to loud music on your earphones, it seems doubtful whether you can still pay full attention to what’s going on in the traffic around you.”
