The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration compiles a wide range of statistics, including those on bicycle accidents. They just released their most recent data, which is from 2014. According to those stats, more than 725 people were killed in the United States while riding a bicycle, as a result of being in an accident with a vehicle.
This is about 2% of the total traffic-related fatalities per year. In California alone, more than $4 billion is spent each year on fatalities and injuries related to bike accidents. According to hospital records, only about 10% of bike accidents that lead to injuries are ever reported to or noted by the police. According to this most recent data, bike injuries were higher in 2014 than 2013. In fact, in 2013 there were around 48,000 bike injuries, while in 2014 there were more than 50,000.
What affects safety on bikes?
There are several things that bike riders can keep in mind to try and stay as safe as possible. First, these stats showed that the time of day they’re riding can make a big difference. Other factors include the location of their route, with busier roads leading to more bike and auto accidents, how much experience a bike rider has, and whether they’ve been using alcohol or drugs.
Is biking more dangerous than driving?
At Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas, we find it interesting that there is currently no way to tell if biking or driving is more dangerous or more likely to lead to a deadly crash. The reality is that in order to figure this out, we’d need to know how many miles the average bike rider biked each year, how long said riders are exposed to certain types of road traffic, and a number of other types of stats that we simply don’t have access to. We’ve worked with both car drivers and bike riders in a wide range of accident types.
What we do know about people in bike accidents
While we can’t say definitively whether bikes or cars are safer overall, we do know that average age of those killed in bike accidents has gotten much older. In 1988 the average age was 24 while in 2014 the average age was 45. Almost 90% of all bike fatalities are men. More than 70% of bicycling deaths happen in urban areas.
Have you been injured in a bike accident?
If you’ve been injured in a bike accident, or a loved one has died in a bike accident, then you may be in a position to file a suit for damages. The experienced professionals at Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas can help assess whether or not you have a case. In fact, when you call us at 909-982-0707, we’ll provide you with a free case evaluation. Call us today and let us help you through this difficult time.
