Causes of bicycle accidents and bicycling injuries

Each year more than 500,000 people in the US are treated in emergency departments for bicycling injuries, according to the National Centers for Disease Control reports. In 2006, the latest year for which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has figures 773 people died as a result of bicycle injuries, and an additional 44,000 were injured in traffic crashes. Pedalcyclist deaths accounted for 2 percent of all traffic fatalities, and pedalcyclists made up 2 percent of all the people injured in traffic crashes during the year.

Children 15 years and younger are at particularly high risk, accounting for 60% of all bicycle injuries seen in US emergency departments.

The principal cause of bicycle fatalities and severe bicycle injuries is collisions with motor vehicles, most frequently occurring because of vehicle drivers' errors or inattention. Other causes of bicycle crashes include unsafe conditions on the roadway, such as loose gravel or other debris in the road, severe unevenness in the roadbed, and pits and potholes. Rain-slicked surfaces also frequently contribute to crashes. Speed increases risk; the higher a bicycle's speed at the time of a collision, the harder the driver's impact when he hits the pavement or anything else. Doing stunts on your bicycles also increases the odds of accidents and injury.

Pedalcyclist fatalities occurred more frequently in urban areas (73%), and at non-intersection locations (68%). The most dangerous time of day to be riding was between the hours of 5 and 9 p.m. when 27% of fatalities occurred. Summer, the months of June, July, and August accounted for 33% of all bicycle fatalities.

Wearing a helmet dramatically increases a bicyclist's odds of surviving a collision, and reducing the risk of a traumatic brain injury. Nearly 70 percent of fatal bicycle crashes involve head injuries, according to the US Department of Transportation, yet only 25 percent of cyclists wear helmets. The DOT estimates that if all children age 4 to 15 wore helmets when they rode bicycles, 45,000 head injuries and 55,000 scalp and face injuries could be prevented every year.

In 1986 California became the first state to pass a bicycle helmet law, and a subsequent amendment now covers all riders under 18 Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have helmet laws, most of which cover riders under 16. Fourteen states have no helmet laws at all.

In contrast to cars and trucks, bicycles provide virtually no protection in a crash. An automobile or a truck provides structural protection in the form of a steel cage surrounding the occupants, and passenger restraint systems like seatbelts and airbags. Lacking protection from their vehicle, cyclists need helmets and other protective gear.

Even when cyclists wear helmets and protective clothing they may suffer injuries that result from faulty highway design or from defects in their safety equipment. Some bicycle injuries and fatalities are caused by malfunction of the bicycle, poor vehicle design, or a bad fit between cyclist and bike.

For everyone who rides a bicycle, safety should be an extremely important concern. Avoiding collisions with cars is the most effective means to reduce injuries and fatalities. Drivers involved in car-bicycle collisions often report that they did not see the cyclist. A bright headlight, a blinking red tail-light, reflective clothing and a loud horn all increase a cyclist's visibility.