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While the nationwide shutdowns in the spring and winter decreased the overall number of cyclist deaths, the picture we were left with was still as tragic and dire as ever.
While the nationwide shutdowns in the spring and winter decreased the overall number of cyclist deaths, the picture we were left with was still as tragic and dire as ever.
#2020cyclingdeaths

What We Learned from Tracking Cycling Deaths for a Year

Published: 

With the help of the nonprofit BikeMaps.org, we analyzed the data we collected on bicyclists killed by drivers in 2020 and found some surprising takeaways

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In December, the driver of a box truck plowed into a group of cyclists听riding along U.S. Highway 95 south of Las Vegas. Five people died in the crash, and it was later discovered听that the driver had听methamphetamine in his system. At 国产吃瓜黑料, we were horrified by the tragedy,听which was covered in and news, but we also knew it was part of a troubling trend: record numbers of听cyclists (and听thousands听of听pedestrians)听on our nation鈥檚听roads are being killed by drivers often without any media attention beyond a brief听local news story. In 2018, in crashes with drivers, the deadliest year for people on bikes since 1990. In 2019, while the total number of deaths , cities like New York recorded their highest number of cyclist fatalities ever.

Last January, in response to those disturbing numbers,听we launched the听#2020CyclingDeaths project, which aimed to track every person on a bike killed by a driver in the U.S. over the course of the year.听In the end, we recorded 697 cyclist deaths.听Since we were only able to count deaths reported by local media, the actual total is likely significantly听higher.听The five victims of the Nevada crash were numbers听662听through 666听in our database.

In late December, we partnered with the nonprofit , founded by Trisalyn Nelson, a professor in geographic information science at the University of California at听Santa Barbara. BikeMaps.org has been collecting crowdsourced information about cyclist crashes, near misses, traffic hazards (like potholes and road construction), and bike thefts in the U.S. and Canada since 2014. Its听team helped us analyze the data we collected and synthesize the information. While the overall number of cyclists deaths in 2020 appears to be lower than the past couple of years, likely because of the spring lockdowns in response to the pandemic, there is no sign that our streets are getting safer. Here鈥檚 what we found.

Number of Cyclists Killed by Drivers听in 2020: 697

The vast majority were men.

(Jonathan Ver Steegh)

Percentage of Deaths That Were Hit-and-Runs

In more than a quarter of the crashes we recorded, the driver fled the scene.

(Jonathan Ver Steegh)

Where the Deaths Happened

We found that fatal crashes were occurring all听over the country. We recorded deaths in 47听states and nearly every major metropolitan area.

(Map data collected through December 31, 2020, by 国产吃瓜黑料; map created by BikeMaps.org.)

States with the Most Total Deaths

Louisiana, New York, California, Florida, and听Texas were the five deadliest states for cyclists in terms of total fatalities. The latter three have been the most deadly听states for cyclists for years, and New York鈥檚 fatalities have been on the rise as well鈥攊n 2019, it reported 46 cyclist deaths,听 alone.听While these three states听are also the most populous in the country,听Florida and California have听among the most听cycling deaths听per million people, as well. And Louisiana听recorded 7.3听cycling听deaths per million people, the most of any state.听Louisiana鈥檚 total fatal crash numbers have remained in the twenties听and thirties听for the past five years, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

(Jonathan Ver Steegh)

Deaths by Location

Surprisingly, our data showed us that cyclists were dying from crashes in rural areas at nearly the same rate as in urban ones. Rural arterial roads can lack four-way-stop intersections with traffic lights and rarely have a shoulder for cyclists to ride along.

(Jonathan Ver Steegh)

Deaths by Road Type

The most dangerous place to be a cyclist, however, was on an arterial road, which we defined as a busy, multilane thoroughfare with traffic signals at intersections and speeds limits exceeding 30 miles per hour.听Arterials accounted听for 65听percent of the fatal crashes in our database. We saw that poorly designed intersections along these roads听presented serious hazards for cyclists. While many had multiple lanes for cars, they had none for bikes. Furthermore, many had speed limits as high as 45 miles per听hour. (Speed limits have been increasing in many parts of the country.)听And numerous听intersections on arterials听allow vehicles to turn right on a red light, or have several turning lanes, which makes it much more likely that a driver won鈥檛 see a cyclist while they are turning.

BikeMaps.org听executive director Karen Laberee adds听that cars making unprotected left听turns鈥攖hose听with no dedicated left-turn听light鈥攁re especially hazardous, because a driver may be watching for other cars coming in the opposite direction听but not for cyclists or pedestrians. 鈥淎 left turn is a particularly for a driver鈥攖here鈥檚 a lot going on for them to process,鈥 Laberee says. One solution is to restrict concurrent movement, with separate light cycles for left-turning vehicles, vehicles driving straight, and pedestrians and cyclists, she says.听That way, only vehicles or pedestrians are going through the intersection at one time.

(Jonathan Ver Steegh)

Some of the deadliest roads in the country were Military Trail in West Palm Beach, Florida; Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach, California; and First and Second Avenues in Manhattan. These roads each had three cyclist fatalities in 2020, and we noted a couple factors that may point to why. Military Trail is a multilane arterial that only has a protected bike lane at some intersections; Beach Boulevard lacks a bike lane altogether; and First and Second Avenues are busy city streets with little room for cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicles to all share the road.

South Military Trail in West Palm Beach, Florida
South Military Trail in West Palm Beach, Florida (Google)
Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach, California
Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach, California (Google)
First Avenue in Manhattan
First Avenue in Manhattan (Google)

The Lockdown

Our data also showed a surge of deaths over the summer, with 84 in July鈥攁 25 percent increase from June. Though it鈥檚 too early to be certain, the cycling boom that took place after the COVID-19 lockdown orders may have contributed to the summer death rate. From January through November, $4.9 billion worth of bikes were sold in the U.S., according to .听In Los Angeles听and Houston听alone, Strava found in cycling trips in both cities in May 2020 compared to May 2019. More cyclists on the road seemed to correlate with more people on bikes being killed by drivers.

Number of Deaths by Month

(Jonathan Ver Steegh)

Hit-and-Runs Over Time

There was also an increase in hit-and-runs starting in the summer.

(Jonathan Ver Steegh)

Where to Go from Here

Despite this harrowing data, we remain optimistic that safer roads for cyclists are possible.听Across the country and the world, leaders are pushing legislation and expanding infrastructure projects to听make roads safer for users who are not in a car. These efforts were accelerated听by the pandemic鈥檚 impact on public transportation and how we now move about our communities. The Slow Streets movement,听which started last spring as part of several cities鈥 COVID-19 responses, strives听to make more space on roads for pedestrians and cyclists. It across the U.S., including听Oakland, California; New York City;听and Washington, D.C. collected by the University of North Carolina found that nearly 300 temporary and long-term infrastructure projects were initiated in cities around the world in 2020 to create听more people-friendly streets, with about a third of them听in the U.S.; initiatives included closing roads to vehicle traffic and converting some vehicle lanes exclusively for walking and cycling use.

While local governments across the nation听have been taking action to make streets safer, the new presidential administration will hopefully add federal support to the effort as well. Under President Obama, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration the agency鈥檚 New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) to better address how to make cars听safer for people outside the vehicle, not just those inside. We鈥檇 like to see President Biden continue this effort听and follow through on his 听to install zero-emissions public-transportation options, including infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians听in cities with at least 100,000 people. 鈥淚t鈥檚 expensive, political, and there are limited budgets鈥攁ll factors making [changes] harder to implement鈥攂ut there is a will for making cities better,鈥 says听Nelson听of BikeMaps.org.

Here is what we hope local and federal governments will do to address the unacceptable number of cyclists and pedestrians听dying on our streets:

  • Devote serious toward protected bike lanes and intersections. Separating cyclists from pedestrian and vehicle traffic is crucial to keeping everyone on our streets safer. One found that cities with protected bike lanes cited higher safety records for all road users. Unlike standard bike lanes, provide a physical barrier (such as a curb, raised bump, or delineator posts)听between the bike lane and the vehicle roadway. City planners should also connect preexisting bike lanes to establish听a more efficient flow of traffic and prevent cyclists from riding on roads with no bike infrastructure.
  • Incorporate a car鈥檚 potential risk听to cyclists and pedestrians with听vehicle-safety ratings. The work of the Obama administration to revise the NCAP to address pedestrian and cyclist safety was a step in the right direction, but it must be continued. It鈥檚 important for drivers to understand how a听vehicle听they鈥檙e about to purchase could injure another person in a crash.
  • Improve education for drivers.听People behind the wheel听may not fully realize the risk they take when driving distracted or tired. In 2017, the NHTSA that 91,000 police-reported crashes involved drowsy drivers. Driver鈥檚 ed schools should include mandatory lessons on distracted or tired driving.
  • Incentivize cycling. Cycling, in addition to being a great form of exercise, also makes a city cleaner and healthier. have encouraged their employees to bike more by giving them bikes or paying employees to ride to work instead of driving. Coupled with better bike infrastructure, incentivization programs like the 1993 , which offered reimbursements on biking expenses for cyclists, would get more people motivated听to travel this way.

A Note on Our Methodology

We tracked cyclist deaths for the project by checking news databases and local-news archives on a weekly basis, as well as through emailed tips from readers. We recorded the data in real time, with an understanding that not every death is reported by news outlets, so it is likely that there were more deaths in 2020听than we鈥檝e reported here.

We characterized a crash location by analyzing Google Street View; a location was determined to be suburban听if it was surrounded by swimming pools, golf courses, cul-de-sacs, or strip malls; urban听if it was inside city limits, laid out in a grid, and there were no suburban indicators;听and rural听if the area was mostly surrounded by open space, trees, or fields.

Finally, we determined a road to be arterial if it had stoplights and speeds of up to 45 miles per hour. We did, however, consider rural, two-lane roads with speed limits under 50 miles per hour to be arterials听as well.

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