Are Bicycle Crashes Still on the Rise?

A decade ago, San Francisco city officials committed to becoming a Vision Zero City, aiming to completely eliminate all-traffic related deaths by 2024. For cyclists, threats on the road are still commonplace, but conditions seem to be improving.

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that San Francisco has some of the lowest rates of bicycle fatalities per capita in the country. Deaths counted from 2017 through 2021 were down 58% from the 2012-2016 average, according to federal numbers.

This comes as cycling has steadily increased in popularity over time with 16% of city residents now counting themselves as “frequent cyclists.” The pandemic saw a steep increase in cycling in San Francisco and across the nation and it continues to grow, prompting more communities to call on appropriate infrastructure to protect cyclists on busy roadways.

Progress and setbacks over the years

In March, it became abundantly clear that the city’s Vision Zero goal is still out of reach when a family of four was killed while waiting at a bus stop in West Portal. A 78-year-old woman’s car veered across the roadway and into the family. For pedestrians and cyclists alike, the accident signaled there’s still a lot of work to do to ensure safety for road users of all kinds.

Following the accident, San Francisco Mayor London Breed vowed to increase safety efforts across the city.

“I have asked for three specific things: A daylighting plan policy to prioritize the treatment of intersections citywide. A ‘no right on red’ policy to prioritize the treatment at intersections citywide. Increase in parking control enforcement to ticket people who park on sidewalks and block our sidewalks and bike lanes,” she said on the steps of city hall this spring. “I will continue to do everything I can to deliver on street safety in San Francisco.”

These measures have seen success elsewhere and have the potential to positively impact the city. But San Francisco is still on track to have one of its deadliest traffic years in more than a decade. As of July 31st, there have been 21 traffic deaths, the most since 2005. One of the accidents, which occurred in May, involved a cyclist who was doored by a city employee in an area with no infrastructure for cyclists.

Advocates called on the city for more employee training to avoid such accidents and increase the number of bike lanes across the region. Currently, there are nearly 50 miles of dedicated bike lanes across San Francisco, and more are on the way with current and future plans in the works.

Last year, the region’s cycling community was rocked by the death of Ethan Boyes, who was struck by a driver while riding his bicycle in the Presidio. Cycling advocates called for change.

“The single most effective thing the City can do to increase safety is build protected bike lanes and protected intersections,” Luke Bornheimer, a sustainable transportation advocate, told Axios San Francisco. “It’s also the most cost effective thing the City can do and will increase the number of people riding bikes for transportation (sustainable mode shift/share).”

With every cyclist lost in an accident comes the reminder that moving the needle toward a safer city should be top priority.

A look at national averages

While success can be hard to pinpoint from year-to-year comparisons, the NHTSA data shows that local rates of bicycle crashes do tend to be on the decline, which is especially positive news considering national averages. Compared to the national rate of 2.7 fatal bicycle crashes for every million U.S. residents (up 5% from 2012-2016), San Francisco had 1.4 crashes for every million residents, during the same time period

“The absolute number of crashes, without a measure of the volume of people riding bicycles, is an imperfect indicator and does not tell the whole story of bicycle safety,” the NHTSA says. “For example, while the number of crashes is higher in urban areas, this does not mean that the rate of crashes is high in comparison to the rate in other contexts.”

On top of fatalities, there are still relatively high numbers of accidents involving cyclists, but even those numbers are considered conservative estimates because crashes, especially when minor in nature, are not reported to law enforcement or recorded into local or national data.

What’s next for San Francisco’s cycling infrastructure

Even with encouraging news on the horizon, there’s always room for improvement – even cities that have achieved Vision Zero continue their progress to ensure safety.

It’s also important to be prepared for the worst. Tragic cycling accidents can happen in an instant. Bay Area Bicycle Law attorneys are experts in this niche area of personal injury law and can help navigate the aftermath of an accident.

San Francisco’s Vision Zero plan, while nearing the end of its 10-year goal, is expected to carry on, with more bike lanes planned, new state laws to implement, and plans to make safer roadways for all San Franciscans.