Bicycle safety

Despite the ubiquity and affordability of automobiles in many parts of the world, bicycles are the most popular form of transit worldwide. Bicycles not only serve as an extremely cost-efficient method of transporting individuals but also as a means of exercising and a source of recreation. The Copenhagenize Design Company publishes a biennial index of the world’s most bike-friendly cities; the cities of Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Utrecht topped the 2019 index for their networks of bike lanes and urban design that promotes bicycle safety. However, there is an inherent risk in riding bicycles, especially in urban and suburban environments where cyclists are interspersed among automobiles. This has led to the passage of various laws that mandate requirements designed to prevent injuries and deaths among cyclists.

Brief History

The modern-day bicycle owes its origins to the German-invented draisine, a two-wheeled velocipede known in English as the dandy horse. Usually made out of a wooden frame, the dandy horse itself was invented in Germany and patented in 1818 by inventor Karl Drais (1785–1851). Drais’s goal was to provide a form of transportation that did not require horses. On his first ride, Drais allegedly covered a distance of 8 miles (12.9 kilometers) in less than one hour. The dandy horse’s form was similar to the modern bicycle, with two wheels arranged one behind the other, with the rider situated in the middle of the two wheels. There was also a hinged steering mechanism that the rider used to change direction. However, unlike today’s bicycle, the dandy horse was not powered by pedals. Instead, the rider used their feet on the ground, similar to modern-day balance bicycles, to propel the dandy horse forward. As the dandy horse gained popularity, it was outlawed in some cities when its accident rate increased.

In 1862, a laborer named Pierre Lallement (1843–1891), who was employed in manufacturing baby carriages, noticed someone riding the dandy horse and saw room for improvement. Soon, Lallement had developed a design that included pedals on the front wheel, thus rendering the dandy horse obsolete. The first pedal bicycle was born. However, early bicycles were extremely dangerous, and the accident rate among riders was high.

Later, in the 1880s, the "safety bicycle" was introduced, which was retroactively named as such because it provided a safer alternative than most bicycle designs of the past, which featured a larger front wheel. Unlike other pedal bicycles in the past, this type of bicycle was safer because the rider’s feet were lower to ground, allowing riders to halt the momentum of the bicycle if they needed to stop quickly or avoid falling over. Also, it was much more balanced than other types of bicycles, and therefore the potential of someone’s weight propelling them forward over the front wheel and onto the ground was greatly diminished.

Overview

Despite advances in bicycle design and safety, bicycle use can be not only injurious but sometimes fatal. In the United States alone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2022, 883 people on bicycles were killed per year, on average, from 2017 through 2021. Urban bicycling is particularly dangerous, as approximately two-thirds of all US bike fatalities occur in urban areas. In 2021, bicyclists accounted for 2.2 percent of total traffic fatalities. Sixty-two percent of these fatalities took place at non-intersection locations, and 85 percent of fatalities took place in urban areas, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in 2024.

Several items can significantly decrease the risk of injuries and fatalities among cyclists. Perhaps the most significant is the standard bike helmet, which was popularized during the bike boom of the 1970s. According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute in 2024, twenty-one US states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws requiring cyclists under a certain age (typically fourteen or sixteen) to wear a helmet while riding. Certain municipalities have enacted laws requiring all cyclists to wear a helmet regardless of age, but no state law mandates helmets for riders of all ages. States that have enacted helmet laws have seen significant drops in the rate of bicycle fatalities among the age group the laws affect. Helmets should be properly sized and tightly fitted to the cyclist’s head.

While not typically required by law, bicycle safety lights can also reduce the chance of cyclist injury. These lights illuminate the roadway in front of the bike as well as the bike itself so that oncoming traffic can be made aware of the bicyclists’ presence. Today, many countries require bike manufacturers to include lights or reflectors on their products. Bicyclists can also wear fluorescent or brightly colored clothing during the daytime to increase their visibility. The use of hand signals by bicyclists when turning or stopping can also prevent accidents with other motor vehicles. Bicyclists should always ride in the same direction as other traffic and obey all traffic laws and signs like any other vehicle.

Compared to other countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States ranks low in kilometers of bicycle travel per inhabitant per year but high in cyclists killed per billion kilometers of bicycle travel; therefore, although Americans travel fewer miles on a bicycle, they are more likely to be involved in a fatal accident over the same distance. A 2013 OECD report suggested that in countries with higher numbers of cyclists, motor vehicle operators have better awareness of cyclists on the road, making accidents involving bikes and cars less likely. In addition, the United States lacks the infrastructure, urban design, and other roadway engineering measures implemented in other OECD countries, particularly the Netherlands and Denmark, to promote bicycle safety. According to the IIHS (2024), a total of 1,083 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles in the United States in 2022. This was the highest number ever recorded.

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