A report issued by the US Department of Transportation compiles the “what,” “when,” “where” and “how” of 630 bicyclist fatalities in 2009 involving motor vehicles.
It's easier to read these numbers if you don't think about the “who.”
“Traffic Safety Facts of 2009” is a follow-up report to one issued last September trumpeting that overall traffic fatalities in the US dropped to their lowest level since 1950. Bicycling fatalities also dropped that year, by 12%.
Looking through these latest statistics compiled and spit out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it's hard not to jump to conclusions based on what's on the page in front of you. I'll try to report them with as little interpretation as possible.
Sunbelt
I suppose it's no surprise that the deadliest state for bicyclists in 2009 was Florida, with 107 fatalities, followed by California, with 99. In fact five of the top 10 states with the most bicyclist deaths can be considered Sunbelt states. They are:
Florida .. 107
California .. 99
Texas .. 48
New York .. 29
Arizona.. 25
Georgia .. 21
Illinois.. 20
Michigan .. 19
Ohio .. 19
North Carolina.. 16
Maine, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia reported no bicyclists killed.
Intersections
A surprise for me was that two-thirds of the bicycle fatalities occurred on the open road. I thought intersections were the most dangerous places for cyclists. However, another chart shows that 59% of bicycle injuries occur at intersections.
Combining all bicycle crashes, we find that 60% of injury crashes did occur at intersections, while 0.7% of those were fatal. While 40% of the crashes occur between intersections, 2% of those are fatal, more than double the rate of intersection crashes.
Other findings in the report:
— Passenger cars account for 57% of collisions with bicyclists and 0.8% of those are fatal. Pickup trucks account for 41% of collisions with bicyclists, but a higher percentage of those — 1.2% — are fatal.
— The 45- to 54-year-old age group suffered the most fatalities at 139; the second highest was the 35-to-44 age group with 105. The age group with the most injuries, about 10,000, was 25- to 34-year-olds.
— More men were killed than women… 549 compared to 81.
— Most bicycle fatalities occurred between 6 and 9 p.m. – 138; 3 to 6 p.m. – 117; and 9 to midnight – 80. The most injuries — 17,000 out of 51,000 — occurred from 3 to 6 p.m.
Annual deaths
One of the most amazing numbers was a simple chart that listed bicycle deaths going back to 1975, when 1,003 bicyclists died in traffic collisions. The highway safety experts estimate that 75,000 bicyclists suffered injuries that year.
When you consider the increases in traffic congestion since then and the current popularity of bicycles for recreation and transportation, it shows that a lot of hard work is being done to make bicycling safer.
Here's bicyclist fatalities for the past 10 years:
2009 — 630
2008 — 716
2007 — 701
2006 — 773
2005 — 786
2004 — 727
2003 — 629
2002 — 665
2001 — 732
2000 — 693
2 comments
Very interesting, shows a stable amount of deaths year in and year out. I never see the younger generation reaching for a bicycle because they have been told how dangerous it can be, while sitting on the couch playing video games all day is really the silent killer.
I live in Florida and ride a bicycle every where so I can tell you first hand these drivers and the police have no respect for cyclists or pedestrians. First of all, Florida is filled with bad drivers who regularly do not stop at STOP at stop signs and looking both ways is NOT even on their agenda. . WHERE ARE THE POLICE?
I have had to adopt a policy of understanding that I am on my own and treat them as the imbeciles that they are and ride by bike defensively. The sad part about this is the weather makes Florida a great place to ride a bike. But you do so at your own peril. Give the MORONS the right of way and you will live to ride another day!