Characteristics of Accident Victims

• Most bicycle injuries occur to boys aged 10-14 years.
  
  
• Although safety education often focuses on children, older bicyclists must remember that almost 70% of bicycle deaths involve adults.
  
  
• Men account for almost 90% of all bicycle deaths, seven times higher than rates for women.

• In analyzing who is at fault for a collision, officials found the bicyclist responsible in half the cases and the motorist responsible in about one-third. The remaining cases were attributed to both parties.
  
  
• Younger cyclists who are not familiar with rules of the road are far more likely to cause and be involved in a serious accident. Some advocate that children younger than eight years of age should not be allowed to ride a bicycle on public roads.
  
  
• Statistics from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reveal that most bicycle deaths occur between June through September, and between the hours of 6-9 p.m.
  
  
  • The risk of sustaining an injury in non-daylight conditions is four times greater than during daytime.
    
    
  • Nearly half of bicycle-motor vehicle crashes occurred at night or during low-light conditions when motorists had trouble seeing cyclists.
    
    
  • Bicycle deaths occur almost equally throughout the weekdays and weekends.
    
    
  • More bicyclists are killed in urban areas than rural areas.
    
    
  • Sixty percent of bicycle deaths in 2006 occurred on major roads
    
    
  • One-third of bicycle deaths occurred at intersections.
    
    
  • One-third of bicyclist fatalities occur on roads with speed limits of 55 mph or higher.
    
    
  • Typically, bicycle-motorist crashes occur within one mile of the bicyclist's home.