Bicycle Crash Statistics

In 1999, there were 750 bicycling fatalities and 51,000 bicycling injuries resulting from traffic crashes in the United States. While these numbers continue to decrease from year to year, bicyclist fatalities still account for 2 percent of all traffic fatalities as well as 2 percent of all traffic injuries.

• When the motorist and bicyclist were on initial parallel paths, either in the same direction or opposing directions, the three most frequent categories of crashes were:
  • Motorist turning or merging into the path of a bicyclist (12.1 percent of all crashes). Almost half (48.8 percent) of these crashes involved a motorist making a left turn in front of a bicyclist approaching from the opposite direction.
  • Motorist overtaking a bicyclist (8.6 percent of all crashes). Of these crashes, 23 percent appeared to involve a motorist who misjudged the space required to safely pass the bicyclist.
  • Bicyclist turning or merging into the path of a motorist (7.3 percent of all crashes). Within this category, 60 percent involved a bicyclist making a left turn in front of a motorist traveling in the same direction.

• When the motorist and bicyclist were on initial crossing paths, the three most frequent categories of crashes were:
  • Motorist failed to yield right-of-way at a junction (21.7 percent of all crashes). Of these crashes, more than a third (37.3 percent) involved a motorist violating the sign or signal and drove into the crosswalk or intersection and struck the bicyclist.
  • Bicyclist failed to yield right-of-way at an intersection (16.8 percent of all crashes). Within this category, 38 percent involved a bicyclist who had stopped for a sign or flashing signal and then drove into the intersection and was struck by the motor vehicle.
  • Bicyclist failed to yield right-of-way at a midblock location (11.7 percent of all crashes). Almost half of these crashes (43.4 percent) involved a bicyclist riding out into the roadway from a residential driveway.

• 660 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles in 2002. This is 9 percent fewer than in 2001 and down 34 percent since 1975. Bicycle deaths are most likely to occur in summer. Deaths are most likely to occur on Fridays and Saturdays. The peak time is 3-9 pm.
• Ninety-eight percent of bicyclists killed in 1999 reportedly weren't wearing helmets.
• Deaths of older bicyclists are an increasing problem. Seventy-one percent of 1999 bicycle deaths were riders 16 years and older. This compares with 32 percent of bicycle deaths in 1975.
• Four states (California, Florida, New York, and Texas) accounted for 43 percent of bicycle deaths in 1999.
• More bicyclists were killed in urban areas than in rural areas (64 percent compared with 36 percent) in 1999.
• Thirty-five percent of bicycle deaths in 1999 occurred at intersections.
• Fifty-seven percent of bicycle deaths in 1999 occurred on major roads, and 37 percent occurred on local roads.
• Fifty-nine percent of bicycle deaths among children younger than 13 and 27 percent of adult bicycle deaths occur on minor roads. Adult bicyclists are more likely than children to be killed on major roads (67 percent compared with 38 percent).

The number of total deaths has dropped from 1003 in 1975 to 660 in 2002.

...adult urban cyclists now constitute the dominant modality among bicycle traffic fatalities in general, and that nighttime fatalities comprise at least half the problem in this class. This is out of all proportion to the amount of urban cycling actually being done at night, and strongly suggests more attention needs to be given to the entire nighttime bicycle conspicuity problem.