In 2013, there were 743 pedal
cyclists killed and an estimated 48,000 injured in motor vehicle traffic
crashes. Pedal cyclist deaths accounted for 2 percent of all motor vehicle
traffic fatalities (Table 1) and injured pedal cyclists made up 2 percent of
the people injured in traffic crashes during the year. The number of pedal
cyclists killed in 2013 is 1 percent higher than the 734 pedal cyclists killed
in 2012. The increase in 2013 is the third straight increase in pedal cyclist
fatalities, a 19-percent increase since 2010.
Key
Findings
• The 743 pedal cyclist deaths in 2013 accounted for 2 percent of all traffic
fatalities during the year. • Sixty-eight percent of all pedal cyclists
who died in motor vehicle crashes in 2013 died in urban area crashes. • Over a
10-year period (2004 to 2013), the average age of pedal cyclists killed in
motor vehicle crashes has steadily increased from 39 to 44. • The pedal cyclist
fatality rate per capita (rate per million people) was almost 7 times greater
for males than females in 2013. • Alcohol involvement—either for the motor
vehicle operator or for the pedal cyclist—was reported in more than 34 percent
of all fatal pedal cyclist crashes in 2013. • Of the pedal cyclists who died in
2013, 24 percent of them had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of .01 g/ld.
or greater.
Go
over some highlights in fact
sheet at
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812151.pdf
In
a 1989 study, it was found that most serious brain injuries of bike accident
victims were ones where no helmets were worn.
And,
85% reduction in risk of head injury could be achieved;
by wearing
helmets (with a confidence level of 95%), if a
bike accident were to occur (Thompson, 1989).
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