Early this year, the League of American Bicyclists released a report that looked at bicycling deaths for several decades. According to data from the United States Department of Transportation, 2016 saw more fatalities than any other year since 1991.
If you regularly commute by bike for work, pleasure or exercise, it’s probably no surprise to you that cyclists often struggle to share the road with cars. Every year, between 2006 and 2016, there have been around 800 deaths — despite efforts to make cities “bike-friendly” with educational programs, bike lanes and more.
So, what gives? Cities are actively encouraging people to bike as often as possible because it reduces the carbon footprint of the city as a whole, reduces congestion on the roads and encourages people to be active and healthy. Yet, there’s precious little progress being made when it comes to actually making the roads safer for those cyclists.
A lot of people want to blame the fact that there are simply more vehicles and more bicycles on the road as well — but that doesn’t explain how some areas are making individual headway against the problem of biking accidents. Oregon, for example, has seen a virtual explosion in biking in recent years. There are 46.5% more cyclists in Oregon now than there were just five years ago. Yet, that state has one of the lowest rates of cyclist deaths in the nation.
Clearly, more can be done to prevent cyclists from dying — or suffering terrible injuries. Whether that’s changing the infrastructure of a city to be more accommodating or cracking down on distracted driving, it’s hard to say.
A cyclist involved in a collision with a motor vehicle is always bound to lose. The resulting injuries, even if he or she survives, can be extensive and the financial losses extreme. If you’ve suffered such an injury, or your loved one was killed, find out more about your possible legal avenues for redress.