There’s no denying the health benefits of cycling. It’s a low-impact exercise that increases your heart rate and tones your muscles without stressing joints, but that doesn’t mean it’s without risk. Velotric recently conducted a study to assess the safety of cycling in the U.S. We’ve discovered the most dangerous places to ride as well as when and how most bike accidents occur. Read on for ways to stay safe out there and learn from others’ unfortunate experiences.

There are only so many factors you can control when it comes to your safety on the road. Accidents are bound to happen, but where in the U.S. do most occur? We analyzed road accident data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to find out.

With nearly 1,000 deaths and more than 130,000 injuries from bike crashes each year, how safe is it to ride a bicycle in America these days? It may depend on where you ride.

In 2020, Houston, TX, had more fatal bicycle crashes involving a motor vehicle than any other city in the U.S. — a total of 20 The second most dangerous city was Los Angeles, CA, with 14 crashes. But these accidents aren’t the only reason LA residents are on a mission to make their city more bike-friendly. Air pollution and heavy traffic are other concerns that plague the people who live there, whether they cycle or not. 

Six Florida cities also ranked in the top 10. Our state-by-state comparison shows that Florida has had the largest number of fatal bike accidents, with 7.44 per 1 million residents, followed by Louisiana (7.15). In Arizona, the third most dangerous state for cyclists, the number of accidents dipped to 4.32.

What can cyclists in these areas do to protect themselves? Let’s review some bike safety basics and see where today’s cyclists could improve.

When cycling on public roadways, you can’t control what drivers and other cyclists do. What you can control are the precautions you take. Now that we’ve seen where the most accidents have occurred, let’s see what might have been done differently to prevent them based on our survey of 1,000 cyclists. 

Fortunately, about 73% of the cyclists we surveyed said they wear a helmet while riding. But a shocking 27% said they don’t, and 18% wear no safety gear at all! How many of the accidents we tallied up might have resulted in minor injuries instead of fatalities if every cyclist had outfitted themselves with the proper gear?

This includes visibility enhancers to ensure others on the road can see you at all times, which can be especially challenging at night. That’s why reflective gear and lights are so important for cycling after sunset or in the early morning. Even so, far too many cyclists said they don’t wear a reflective vest (82%) or bright clothing (53%) while riding.

Spoke reflectors are also an effective safety measure, but 65% of our respondents said they don’t use those, either. Electric lights are even better since they don’t require an external light source to improve visibility. Regardless, 73% said they don’t wear flashing lights, and 52% don’t use lights on their bike. 

We also found that more than one-quarter of cyclists haven’t been wearing helmets while riding in rush hour traffic. You’re about to find out why that’s especially risky.

It’s just as important for cyclists to be vigilant about their safety riding at night as during certain times of the day. Next, we’ll look into when bike accidents have occurred and gauge how safe cyclists feel on their hometown roads.

Even though riding at night comes with unique visibility concerns, we found that most accidents have occurred during the day. The hours between 3-5 p.m. might be the most dangerous time to be on the road since 37% of those we surveyed have had an accident during this time. This makes up the bulk of “rush hour,” the 3-7 p.m. period when road traffic tends to be heaviest.

While approximately 1 in 6 cyclists said they’ve been in an accident, almost half (47%) said it involved flipping over their handlebars. Nearly as many (37%) said it included a collision with a car. It’s no wonder that 82% reported feeling at least some level of fear about riding a bike in their home city.

After all, a car offers its driver far more protection from injury than a bike does for its rider. But 36% of cyclists said they don’t feel their city has the right infrastructure to keep them safe, such as dedicated bike lanes and reduced speed limits in certain areas. But potential legislation aside, it’s clear that many cyclists could improve their road safety on their own with a few adjustments.

America has some work to do when it comes to cyclist safety, and doing so could help more than just cyclists. Cities can become healthier by increasing residents’ access to the safe, low-impact exercise offered by cycling. But even non-cycling residents can enjoy reduced air pollution and traffic thanks to fewer cars on the road.

But it takes time to implement these measures at a city or state level, so take control of your own safety in the meantime. Wear and install the right safety gear to increase your visibility and reduce the potential harm caused by a collision. Houston, Los Angeles, and Florida residents, in particular, should take every precaution we’ve listed! But no matter where you live, be especially vigilant while riding in rush hour traffic.

We collected data on more than 900 bicycle accidents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System to see which states and cities have had the highest incidence of fatal bicycle crashes. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) is a nationwide census that provides NHTSA, Congress, and the American public with yearly data regarding fatal injuries suffered in motor vehicle traffic crashes. This data is from 2020, which is the most current FARS data available today. We also conducted a survey of 1,000 bicyclists to explore their safety habits.

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If our findings provided you with some helpful safety tips, you’re welcome to share them with anyone you’d like. We just ask that you do so for noncommercial purposes only and link back to this page to credit our researchers.