Bicyclist fatalities have increased, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and if the United States wants to get those figures back down, federal and state actions will be required.
Specifically, the NTSB’s findings pertain to crashes between motor vehicles and bikes. In its first look at bicyclist safety since 1972, the agency found that there has been a recent rise in fatal bike crashes with vehicles, despite the overall fall in traffic deaths last year. There are several ways to help, in their estimation: improvements to road design, enhancing the visibility of bicyclists, and increased helmet use among them.
While they would not stop crashes, they could cut down on the number of fatal and serious ones.
“If we do not improve roadway infrastructure for bicyclists, more preventable crashes will happen, and more cyclists will die in those preventable crashes, ” NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said. “If we do not enhance bicyclist conspicuity, more bicyclists will die in preventable crashes. If we do not act to mitigate head injury for more bicyclists, additional bicyclists will die.”
The most deadly incidents with bikes occur when bikes are being overtaken vehicles, the NTSB report notes. Separated bike lanes or similar means would likely reduce the number of serious crashes, in their view. The most frequent accidents occur at intersections, though, where investigators say that clear right of way signs and markings could save lives.
Not all the problems were on the drivers’ end, however. The NTSB found that bicyclists could stand to increase their visibility — coupled with newer collision avoidance systems and connected vehicle technologies — and to follow traffic laws, obey traffic signals and use bicycle lights. The single most effective means of avoiding serious head injury for bicyclists remains a helmet. To that end, the NTSB urges state and territorial requirements for helmets while biking.