TOPIC IV: BIKING & WALKING ROAD SAFETY

Over time, bicyclist and pedestrian deaths have become more prevalent in urban areas. In 1975, 50% of bicyclist deaths and 59% of pedestrian deaths were in urban areas. In 2020, 79% of bicyclist deaths and 82% of pedestrian deaths were in urban areas. The cities included in the Benchmarking project are the 50 most populous cities in the United States, the most populous city in every state, and Platinum Bicycle Friendly Communities. This provides a broad sample of urban areas in the United States and many of cities with high rates of biking and walking.

Data on this page:

Progress on Pedestrian Safety in the 10 Cities with the Most Pedestrian Deaths

Footnote 59

Number of Pedestrian Fatalities over Time

Pedestrian Fatalities per Pedestrian Commuters over Time

Footnote 60

Pedestrian Fatalities per Capita over Time

Pedestrian Fatalities as a Percent of All Traffic Fatalities

Footnote 61

Progress on Bicyclist Safety in the Cities with the Most Bicyclist Deaths

Footnote 62

Number of Bicyclist Fatalities over Time

Bicyclist Fatalities per Bicyclist Commuters over Time

Footnote 63

Bicyclist Fatalities Per Capita over Time

Bicyclist Fatalities as a Percent of All Traffic Fatalities

Footnote 64

Bicyclist fatalities as a percentage of all traffic fatalities can be a statistic that says as much about the mix of traffic types in a city as it does about bicyclist safety. For example, Minneapolis has one of the five highest shares of bicyclist fatalities as a percentage of all traffic fatalities, but also has one of the ten best rates of bicyclist fatalities per 10k people who bike to work. Taken together, this data suggests that Minneapolis is a safer city for all road users, with a relatively safe bicyclist population that also should be a safety priority given its share of traffic fatalities. In other cities, such as Oklahoma City, wide variations in data are likely related to a relatively small population of people who bike and the lower percentage of traffic fatalities comprised of bicyclists may reflect that many people do not feel safe while bicycling.

59

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx

60

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx and American Community Survey Tables B08006 and B01003 5-year estimates (2011 and 2016).

61

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx and U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B08006 5-year estimate (2011 and 2016).

62

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx and U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B08006 5-year estimate (2011 and 2016).

63

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx and U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B01003 5-year estimate (2016).

64

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx and U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B01003 5-year estimate (2016).

65

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx

66

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx and American Community Survey Tables B08006 and B01003 5-year estimates (2011 and 2016).

67

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx and U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B08006 5-year estimate (2011 and 2016).

68

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx and U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B08006 5-year estimate (2011 and 2016).

69

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx and U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B01003 5-year estimate (2016).

70

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2007- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx and U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B01003 5-year estimate (2016).

71

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey (ACS) Table B08006 5-year estimate (2016). Available at https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/1st/pages/index.xhtml. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2012-2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySelection/SelectYear.aspx.

72

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey (ACS) Table B08006 5-year estimate (2016). Available at https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/1st/pages/index.xhtml. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for City and Person Type (2012-2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySelection/SelectYear.aspx.