Bicycle Crash Statistics
Bicycle crash statistics according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the year 2016, there were 818 bicyclists involved in fatal accidents in the U.S. This is a 6% increase in fatalities since 2006 and an alarming 12.2% increase from 2014. However, bicyclists account for only 2% of the total number of people killed in traffic accidents in 2015. Bicyclist injuries dropped to around 45,000 down from 50,000 recorded in 2014. These numbers are determined by researching U.S. hospital and medical records. The total cost of bicycling injury and death in the U.S. is over $4 billion per year. In 1994 the U.S. Department of Transportation adopted a policy, with a goal of doubling the percentage of trips made by bicycling and walking or pedestrians while simultaneously reducing the number of injuries by 10%. The goals were to be pursued together. European countries, that have a much higher percentage of bicycle use, have shown that you can increase ridership without increasing the number of injuries. Better road planning, traffic laws, and the sheer safety in numbers can combine for better safety results.
Random Facts And Numbers With Regard To Bicycle/Traffic Fatalities – Bicycle Crash Statistics
- 88% of those killed were male.
- 20% of fatalities occurred between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm.
- 19% of bicyclists killed had blood alcohol concentrations of .08 or higher.
- California (128), Florida (139) and Texas (50) led the country for bicycle fatalities.
- Rhode Island and Vermont were the only two states to report no fatalities in 2014.
Here Are Some Resources To Gain More Information About Bicycle Safety:
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – www.nhtsa.gov
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety – www.iihs.org
- Missouri Crash Statistics – www.savemolives.com
- Missouri Department of Transportation – www.modot.com