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Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Overview of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes indicate Cyclist fatalities reached a multi-decade high in 2021.
966 pedal cyclists were killed in traffic crashes in 2021, the deadliest year since 1975. The number of fatalities is up from 948 cyclists in 2020 and 858 in 2019.
“Traffic fatality data in the United States is trending in the wrong direction,” Ken McLeod, policy director of The League of American Bicyclists, wrote. “Especially for people outside of vehicles, the last decade has seen consistent increases in traffic deaths leading to multi-decade highs.”
No state was spared from cycling fatalities in 2021, and more than half of the total deaths occurred in the top five states of Florida, California, Texas, New York and Arizona. Florida specifically had 197 cycling fatalities in 2021, up from 170 in 2020.
Urban areas have increased by 62% since 2012; simultaneously, they decreased by 38% in rural areas.
According to the NHTSA, Cycling fatalities made up about 2.2% of total traffic related deaths in 2021. The reports also indicates the number of cyclists injured in traffic crashes reached 41,615 in 2021 – a 7% increase from 2020.
“While the trends are disturbing, we should not be discouraged into thinking that traffic deaths are inevitable,” McLeod wrote. “Most other wealthy countries do not experience anywhere close to the rate of traffic deaths experienced by Americans. Reducing traffic deaths is both possible and necessary and will take systematic investments to create safer places to bike, walk, and drive that prioritize safety over speed.”
Full article by Allan Laman. Read the NHTSA’s full report on the NHTSA website.