Road types

Most fatalities, severe and slight injuries to pedestrians and cyclists occur in urban areas. However, in rural areas, the percentage of fatalities is larger than the percentage of slight injuries [34]. This means that crash severity is higher in rural areas. One explanation might be the higher vehicle speeds in such areas, but other concomitant factors must not be forgotten: the absence of infrastructures reserved for pedestrians, a more acute visibility problem, the increased negative effects of drink driving, et cetera [16]. Although this general tendency is observed (i.e., most casualties occurring in urban areas), in France and Spain there are more fatalities of cyclists in rural areas than in urban areas. In addition, in Spain more pedestrian fatalities occur in rural areas than in urban areas [34].