Safety Statistics

HIgher actual crash risk increases perceived crash risk, while higher perceived crash risk is negatively associated with actual crash rates.

In New York City, 92% of all bicyclist fatalities occurred as a results of crashes with motor vehicles, and 91% of bicyclists who died were male.

More than one-quarter (28%) of all traffic accidents occur when people talk on cellphones or send text messages while driving.

Even though 85% of Amsterdam residents ride a bike at least once a week, only 6 or 7 cyclists are killed in traffic accidents every year.

One-quarter of characters in recent (2003-2007) children's movies wore helmets while bicycling, up from 15% in 1998-2002 and 6% in 1995-1997.

In 2009, 88 percent of U.S. children's bike-related deaths occurred in the street, up from 38 percent in 1990 and 47 percent in 2005.

A report by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership tracks different approaches to improving bike safety for children.

One study of two years' worth of bicycle crashes in Indiana found that human error was the most common factor in crashes, right angle collisions were the most common crash type, and most crashes occurred in daylight.

There were 716 cyclist fatalities and 52,000 injuries in the US in 2008.

The Federal Highway Administration's Bicycle Countermeasure Selection System has a number of general bike safety stats and information.

The Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute's "Making the Case for Active Transportation" information bulletin summarizes the evidence on bicycling safety.

From 1995 to 2003, the number of bicycle trips in Copenhagen made by adults 40 and older rose from 25% to 38%, yet there was a 60% decline in serious injuries.

There is a direct correlation between feelings of personal safety and the number and percentage of weekly trips taken by bike.

A review of 23 studies on transportation infrastructure and bicyclist safety concluded that bicycle-specific facilities reduce crashes and injuries among cyclists.

Hybrid electric vehicles are more likely to be involved with bicycle crashes than are normal vehicles.

The Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail have compiled nearly 40 rail trail studies on their site here.

In 2008, the number of miles driven in America dropped 3.6% and highway fatalities dropped 9 percent, the lowest fatality level in 50 years.

The health benefits of cycling outweigh the safety risks by a factor of 20 to one.

In New York City:
- A driver could speed every day and get ticketed only once every 35 years.
- Only 1 out of every 438 red light runners is caught.
- A driver could fail to yield every day and get ticketed only once every 1,589 years.

More than 1 million people have died in motor vehicle crashes in the last 25 years in the U.S. In 2008, more than 100 people died every day in car crashes.

In 2009, bicycling participation increased in Minnesota while bicycle crashes and injuries decreased. In Minneapolis, the Midtown Greenway saw a 24% increase in bike riders during the first 4 months of 2009 compared to 2008. Ridership from March-December 2008 was up 32% over the same period in 2007.

The risk of fatality while cycling is just once every 32 million kilometers (20 million miles), or over 800 times around the world.

Why don't people own a helmet?

- 20% say they haven't gotten around to it
- 18% say helmets are not comfortable
- 11% say helmets are unnecesssary
- 9% say helmets are not attractive
- 7% say they don't ride very often

Why don't people wear a bike helmet?

- 26% say they ride only a short distance
- 25% say they forget to wear it
- 20% say it is uncomfortable

Why do people wear a bike helmet?

- 98% say safety
- 70% say because a parent or spouse insists
- 44% say they live where local law requires it

A 1999 survey reported what was important to bike helmet owners:

- 95% said comfort or fit
- 93% said safety certification
- 88% said ease of strap adjustment
- 70% said cost
- 64% said helmet appearance

In Portland, OR, 2008 total traffic fatalities were the lowest in recorded history, with only 20 total fatalities, none of them cyclists. 2008 car, pedestrian, and cyclist fatalities were all at all-time lows.

In London there has been a 91% increase in bicycling on the capital's main roads since 2000, and a 33% reduction in bicyclist casualties in roughly the same period.

The more cyclists there are, the safer cycling is.

Between 2007 and 2008, overall bicycle use in Portland, Oregon increased 28%.

Despite the near doubling of cyclists in London between 2001 and 2005, there has been no increase in the number of pedestrians injured in collisions with cyclists.

In Marin County, CA, bike commuting increased 66% while bicycle crashes declined 34% from 1998 to 2008.

Between 2006 and 2007, cyclist fatalities decreased nearly 10%.

Bicycle safety improvements attract proportionately more people to bicycling than automobile safety improvements (i.e. a 10% increase in safety results in a greater than 10% increase in the share of people bicycle commuting).

Both adult and child cyclists tend to adopt the helmet-wearing behaviors of their cycling companions.

In Paris, only 2% of bicyclists wear helmets compared to 32% in Boston. However, 47% of nighttime Paris bicyclists had working head or tail lights compared to only 15% in Boston.

The average accident rate for commuter cyclists is 37.1 crashes per million km, or one accident every 8.7 years.

98.2% of North American bike commuters own a helmet, and 86.5% say they wear a helmet every time they ride.

Major streets without bike facilities are where the most bike crashes happen, followed by minor streets without facilities, bike paths, and then bike lanes.

A survey of 1,600 cyclists from Texas revealed that 70% of riders felt bicycling is dangerous in terms of traffic accidents, but only 21% thought it is dangerous in the context of crime.

72% of Texas bicycle commuters travel on unsigned roadways during their commute, and only 14% have bicycle lockers or safe storage rooms at their workplace.

Competitive road cyclists report safer driving behavior than drivers who have no cycling experience.

The majority of bicycle-vehicle crashes are not a result of environmental factors, eg. darkness, fog, or rain.

According to a field study by the city of Portland, while bicyclists come to a complete stop at stop signs only 7 percent of the time, motorists stop completely only 22 percent of the time.

For more research on youth cycling safety, check out the Safe Routes to School National Partnership's Research site

Residents of neighborhoods with a high bicycle lane density and population density bicycle more.