Cyclist deaths increase 8.7% in 2011, motor vehicle occupant deaths down

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on December 11, 2012 at 8:18am

Thanks for posting that.

Without context this kind of data is not very useful.

For example, what caused the increase in cyclist fatalities? An increase in cycling? How much of an increase was that, percentage wise? If the percentage increase in cycling exceeded the percentage increase in fatalities, does that mean that cycling effectively became safer per mile ridden?

 

Same questions should be asked for the other mode shares

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Permalink Reply by Will on December 11, 2012 at 9:39am

Yes, obviously the data is devoid of cause-effect information. The comments on the Bike Portland site seem to indicate that (perhaps in Portland, at least) cycling deaths had been going down in recent years, despite an increase in cycling, overall.

In any case, it's somewhat unlikely cycling increased 8.7% (or more, certainly) in a single year, in 2011. Note, as well, that non-fatal injuries among cyclists actually went down 7.7% during the same time period.

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Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on December 11, 2012 at 12:19pm

Not sure I agree. I think an 8.7% increase in cycling is plausible.

It also may be that efforts to improve the quality of data collected (i.e. make sure crashes involving bicycles are documented and recorded as such) are starting to pay off with the result of what looks like an increase in crashes.

The disparity in fatal and non fatal crash trends could mean that it's becoming more popular not to wear a helmet. Or that the fixie fad hasn't yet peaked.

It could also just be that the roads have become 8.7% less safe over the measured period.

Will V. said:

In any case, it's somewhat unlikely cycling increased 8.7% (or more, certainly) in a single year, in 2011. Note, as well, that non-fatal injuries among cyclists actually went down 7.7% during the same time period.

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Permalink Reply by Will on December 11, 2012 at 1:45pm

I think you can find increases of 8.7% or more in small pockets around the country, but over the course of a year, and nationwide, I would highly doubt an 8.7% increase. Perhaps data collection is better. Cycling fatalities fluctuate a little bit, but have historically been less than 2% of total transportation fatalities, until 2011. I don't believe there's any single cause, it's probably a combination of factors, certainly more cycling miles could be one factor.

h' said:

Not sure I agree. I think an 8.7% increase in cycling is plausible.

It also may be that efforts to improve the quality of data collected (i.e. make sure crashes involving bicycles are documented and recorded as such) are starting to pay off with the result of what looks like an increase in crashes.

The disparity in fatal and non fatal crash trends could mean that it's becoming more popular not to wear a helmet. Or that the fixie fad hasn't yet peaked.

It could also just be that the roads have become 8.7% less safe over the measured period.

Will V. said:

In any case, it's somewhat unlikely cycling increased 8.7% (or more, certainly) in a single year, in 2011. Note, as well, that non-fatal injuries among cyclists actually went down 7.7% during the same time period.

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