TOPIC IV: BIKING & WALKING ROAD SAFETY

The United States ranks worse than almost all similarly wealthy nations in traffic safety. According to a 2010 special report by the Transportation Research Board (TRB), “In recent decades nearly every high-income country has made more rapid progress than has the United States in reducing the frequency of road traffic deaths and the rate of deaths per [mile] of vehicle travel.” 41 According to a 2017 report by Ralph Buehler and John Pucher, between 1990-1994 and 2010-2014, the United States made  the least progress of 11 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in reducing pedestrian and bicyclist fatality rates per capita. 42  

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2020, more bicyclists died than in any year since 1987 and more pedestrians died than in any year since 1989. You can find more information under the topic Traffic Safety.

Nationally, the percentage of fatalities composed of bicyclists and pedestrians was 19.4% in 2020. States have very different experiences with bicyclist and pedestrian safety. In some states, like New Jersey, bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities make up more than 30% of all traffic fatalities. In others, like Wyoming, bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities make up less than 10% of all traffic fatalities.

Data on this page:

Map: Number of Pedestrian Fatalities

Number of Pedestrian Fatalities by State over Time

Footnote 43

Pedestrian Fatalities per Pedestrian Commuters over Time

Pedestrian Fatalities per Capita over Time

Pedestrian Fatalities as a Percent of All Traffic Fatalities

Footnote 44

Map: Number of Bicyclist Fatalities

Number of Bicyclist Fatalities by State over Time

Footnote 45

Bicyclist Fatalities per Bicyclist Commuters over Time

Bicyclist Fatalities per Capita Bicyclist over Time

Bicyclist Fatalities as a Percent of All Traffic Fatalities over Time

Footnote 46

Pedestrian Fatalities by Age over Time

Pedestrian Fatalities per Capita by Race

Footnotes 47 48 49

Bicyclist Fatalities by Age over Time

Bicyclist Fatalities per Capita by Race

Footnotes 50 51 52

41

Transportation Research Board. Achieving Traffic Safety Goals in the United States: Lessons from Other Nations (2011) in preface. Available at http:// onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr300.pdf.

42

Ralph Buehler and John Pucher. American Journal of Public Health (February 2017, Vol 107, No. 2). Trends in Walking and Cycling Safety: Recent Evidence From High-Income Countries, With a Focus on the United States and Germany see Figures 1 and 2 at p. 283. Available at https://ajph.aphapublica- tions.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303546.

43

U. S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B08006 1-year estimates (2007-2016). Available at https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/ jsf/pages/index.xhtml. And National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Persons Killed, by STATE and Person Type - State: USA, Year (2007-2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States/StatesCrashesAndAllVictims.aspx.

44

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Persons Killed, by STATE and Person Type - State: USA, Year (2007-2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States/StatesCrashesAndAllVictims.aspx. and U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B01003 5-year estimate (2012-2016). Available at https://factfinder. census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.

45

U. S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B08006 1-year estimates (2007-2016). Available at https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/ jsf/pages/index.xhtml. And National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Persons Killed, by STATE and Person Type - State: USA, Year (2007-2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States/StatesCrashesAndAllVictims.aspx.

46

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Persons Killed, by STATE and Person Type - State: USA, Year (2007-2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States/StatesCrashesAndAllVictims.aspx. and U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B01003 5-year estimate (2012-2016). Available at https://factfinder. census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.

47

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for Person Type and Race (2012- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table S0901 5-year estimate (2012-2016). Available at https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.

48

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for Person Type and Race (2012- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table S0103 5-year estimate (2012-2016). Available at https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.

49

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for Person Type and Race (2012- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B03002 5-year estimate (2012-2016). Available at https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.

50

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for Person Type and Race (2012- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table S0901 5-year estimate (2012-2016). Available at https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.

51

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for Person Type and Race (2012- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table S0103 5-year estimate (2012-2016). Available at https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.

52

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Query of Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database for Person Type and Race (2012- 2016). Available at https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Table B03002 5-year estimate (2012-2016). Available at https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.