Each year about 2 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths are bicyclists. Although child bicyclist deaths have declined over the years, deaths among bicyclists age 20 and older have quadrupled since 1975. In a majority of bicyclist deaths, the most serious injuries are to the head, highlighting the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet.

We’re buying larger cars that keep getting larger—and are more likely to kill people on foot and on bikes. The percentage of SUVs and trucks among new cars sold has ballooned. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis A cyclist or pedestrian’s chances of dying increase by 50 percent if they are hit by an SUV or a truck instead of a sedan.

In 2020, 6,516 pedestrians died in traffic crashes, and 938 cyclists died. Those figures were about a 4% increase in pedestrian and cyclist deaths from the previous year. This increase occurred despite a 12% decrease in vehicle miles traveled in 2020. Nationally, 6,516 pedestrian deaths amounted to 1.98 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people.

Three bicyclists were hit by a car this week in Texas, killing one and injuring two. The Texas Department of Safety said the driver responsible for the accident was not immediately charged at the scene. This is the second major bicycle accident in Texas since September, when a teenage driver struck six cyclists.