Earlier this month the Census Bureau released its 2022 1-year estimates for the American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is the only annual nationwide dataset that includes estimates of how many people are biking and walking. It provides estimates for only one type of trip and only counts one mode per person, so its estimates reflect the way in which survey respondents get to work for the majority of miles during the last week when they take the survey. The Covid-19 pandemic led to remarkable changes in 1-year ACS estimates. The changes to peoples’ lives meant that no 2020 1-year […]
Shared Micromobility has grown and changed significantly in the last decade. According to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, fewer than 80 cities in the United States had a shared micromobility system in 2015 and all systems included docked bikes. Now, their recently released data shows more than 200 cities with a shared micromobility system and dockless e-scooters are the most common system type. Generally speaking micromobility refers to personal mobility devices that are low speed and small in size. Increasingly, micromobility is motorized using electric motors which provide power that assists a person pedaling a bicycle or provides […]
In June 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a Standing General Order (SGO) requiring identified manufacturers and operators of Automated Driving Systems (ADS) and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to report certain crashes involving vehicles equipped with those systems. With two years of reporting, 31 incidents with non-motorists have been reported and 24 of those incidents were with bicyclists. Put another way, incidents with bicyclists account for more than 77% of reported incidents with non-motorists. A majority of those incidents occurred within the last year. While there are limitations with the reporting required by the SGO, this […]
In 2021 the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) created a new rule for the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), the largest dedicated source of safety funding in the United States. The new rule – called the Vulnerable Road User Special Rule (VRU rule) – requires states where 15% or more of traffic deaths are deaths of vulnerable road users (people walking, biking, and using personal conveyances such as wheelchairs) to spend 15% or more of their HSIP funding on projects that improve the safety of vulnerable road users. Data.bikeleague.org has resources explaining this rule and HSIP under the topics section. Last […]
This is bonus part four in a series on new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data. Parts one, two, and three looked at driver-related, vehicle-related, and speed limit-related data elements. Roadway ownership data is not new in the NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST), but it is worthy of being featured. Roadway ownership data is only available since 2015, which limits its value for analysis over time. For pedestrian and bicyclist deaths, the trend of increased fatalities started around 2009. For general analysis, 5-year periods which are typically used on data.bikeleague.org cannot be used for comparison purposes […]
