In 2023, drivers killed 1,166 cyclists on American roads. A record. Cycling deaths have climbed 87% since 2010 while overall traffic fatalities trended down.
More bike lanes went in, more money was spent, and more people rode. The death count still rose.
We are riding more, and dying more. Something on these roads is broken, and it is not us.
The Vehicles Are Getting Bigger and More Lethal
You already know the feeling. A lifted pickup blows past at arm’s length, and your whole body tenses.
Your gut says that vehicle could kill you faster than a sedan. The data agrees.
SUVs appear in just 14.7% of crashes with cyclists and pedestrians but account for 25.4% of fatalities. The IIHS found that SUVs, pickup trucks, and vans are two to three times more likely than cars to kill a pedestrian in a crash, and cyclists face the same physics.
The difference is not driver behavior alone. It is geometry.
A 2024 study in Economics of Transportation found that for every 10 centimeters of additional hood height, a vulnerable road user’s risk of dying jumps 22%. A sedan strikes your legs. You roll up and over the hood.
Your body has a chance to decelerate.
A truck or SUV strikes your torso and head directly. The force concentrates where it matters most.
This is not a fringe problem. The American vehicle fleet has shifted dramatically toward SUVs and trucks over the past fifteen years. That shift maps almost perfectly onto the 87% increase in cycling deaths since 2010.
Bigger vehicles sell. Cyclists die. And the trend is accelerating, not reversing.
The industry calls these “light trucks.” There is nothing light about a 6,000-pound Chevrolet Silverado passing you with two feet of clearance at 50 mph.
Every model year, the best-selling vehicles in America get taller and heavier. The math confirms what your body already knows on every ride: these vehicles are more lethal by design.
E-Bikes Created a Death Category That Didn’t Exist
A decade ago, e-bike fatalities barely registered in national crash data. Today they are surging. Emergency department visits for e-bike and e-scooter injuries quadrupled between 2017 and 2024, and e-bike crashes consistently produce more severe injuries than traditional bicycle crashes.
In New York City in 2023, 23 of 30 cyclist deaths were e-bike riders. That is 77% of all cycling deaths in the country’s largest city, most of them delivery workers.
This matters to our community. Many riders in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond are discovering or rediscovering cycling through e-bikes.
That is genuinely good. More people on bikes strengthens the case for better infrastructure.
But honesty matters more than cheerleading. Engineers designed most U.S. cycling infrastructure for riders averaging 12 to 15 mph.
E-bikes regularly cruise at 20 to 28 mph.
Bike lanes that feel safe at casual speeds become dangerously narrow at e-bike speeds. Intersections designed around slower approach times give drivers less reaction time when an e-bike enters the crossing.
💡 E-bikes bring more people to cycling. That is a win. But infrastructure and policy have not caught up to the speeds, the rider demographics, or the volume.
Until they do, the gap between participation and protection will keep widening.
America Chose Cars in 1973 and We’re Still Paying for It
In 1973, the Netherlands was losing children to traffic violence at a horrifying rate.
The public response was a movement called “Stop de Kindermoord,” which translates to “Stop the Child Murder.” The Dutch redesigned their roads, separated bikes from cars, and built a national network of protected cycling infrastructure.
That same year, the United States chose a different path. We doubled down on highways, suburban sprawl, and car-centric design. Fifty-three years later, we are still living with that decision.
Studies estimate that roughly 60% of the population falls into the “interested but concerned” category when it comes to cycling. They would ride if the roads felt safe. They do not ride because the roads do not feel safe.
They are correct.
Rural roads remain among the deadliest places to ride. Many of us seek them out to escape traffic. But those roads often have no shoulders, no lighting, no rumble strips, and speed limits that assume everyone on the road is in a car.
And 24% of cyclist deaths are hit-and-runs. One in four drivers who kill a cyclist flee the scene.
Rob Tofness, co-founder of the Denver Bicycle Lobby, put it simply: “When you get on a bike, you start to realize… this maybe wasn’t designed for me.”
He is right. It was not designed for us. Infrastructure is the operating system that makes every other risk factor worse.
Bigger vehicles are more dangerous on roads with no bike lanes. E-bike speeds are more lethal at intersections with no separation. Hit-and-runs are easier on roads with no cameras, no lighting, and no witnesses.
What 1,166 Deaths Mean the Next Time You Kit Up
Michael Roussos Jr. lost his son Alex to a driver while Alex was cycling. His words sit heavy: “If my friend asks should I cycle in Asheville, I’m going to say no.”
A father telling people not to ride bikes. Let that settle.
In Georgia, a 72-year-old driver named Jerry Ross struck a group of cyclists and told police “it was not reasonable for cyclists to take a whole lane, so he drove through them.”
* “Sharing the road is not a suggestion”
by u/Feaselbf6 in dashcams
Not an accident, but a decision. A man decided other human beings did not deserve space on a public road, and he used his vehicle as a weapon.
The societal cost of cycling deaths and injuries in the U.S. is $12.2 billion annually. Florida alone recorded 890 cycling deaths between 2019 and 2023.
These are not just numbers on a government spreadsheet. They are group rides that lost a member. They are bikes still hanging in garages.
They are families who flinch at the sound of a car horn.
We could end on despair. We will not.
We ride because cycling is one of the best things a human body and mind can do. We ride because communities built around bikes are healthier, cleaner, and more connected. We ride because giving up the road means accepting that 1,166 cycling deaths a year is tolerable. It is not.
The 1,167th death is preventable. Every one after that is a choice.
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The comment on the dangers of rural roadways interesting. I would appreciate a better dive into that statement. I now ride more gravel roads and find them safer. Lower vehicle speeds and more courteous drivers. Paved secondary roads are another matter.
Every road ride is a little cheat of death in the best circumstances. But the ones who try to move you over or put you under are mental
SOBs, real cowards. After 25 years of road riding I had to quit, shot nerves and bad maths.
This problem, whatever the underlying causes, is unlikely to disappear anytime soon. Distracted driving is certainly a major factor, but hoping for technology lockouts or fewer in-car distractions may not be realistic. Manufacturers continue to add features that consumers want, and governments have largely allowed that trend to continue.
The issue is further complicated by the growing number of large vehicles on the road, including delivery vans, commercial vehicles, large SUVs and pickups. Many of these vehicles have significant blind spots, making it even more important for both drivers and cyclists to remain vigilant.
While penalties for distracted driving have increased over the years, they still don’t appear to be a strong enough deterrent for many people. Smartphone use has become deeply ingrained in everyday life, and many drivers convince themselves that a quick glance won’t matter or that they’ll never be the one who causes a collision.
As cyclists, we also need to recognize that distraction isn’t limited to drivers. I frequently see riders wearing dual earbuds or becoming overly reliant on technology. Tools such as radar can be extremely useful, but they work best as an alerting device, not as a substitute for maintaining awareness of your surroundings. Personally, I’ve found that radar works best as an indicator, while a helmet-mounted mirror provides quick visual confirmation of what’s actually behind me without having to look down at a screen. Keeping your head up and eyes forward can be an important part of maintaining situational awareness.
At the end of the day, assigning blame doesn’t prevent collisions. Whether the vehicle is at fault or not, the cyclist usually pays the higher price. Ride visibly, stay alert, and stay aware of what’s happening around you.
Ride safe, everyone.